Puppy Love
by TaraDorough
Summary: What happens when normal, every day teens, Tara, Lori and Becca stumble upon two dogs and a wolf that aren't really what they seem? A whole lot of romance, excitement, and the mystery of the seemingly magical glade!
1. Strange Friends

**A.N: Hiya! My first ever Inuyasha Fanfic! This story IS written soley on Me and My friends and Inuyasha, Sesshomaru and Koga. Pretty soon I'll put up the Kags/Inu story I've got stirrin around in my head. Until then, Read and Review please!! Writers love Reviewers!! throws cookies to everyone**

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Tara, Lori, and Becca made their way through the halls of their highschool. As anyone could tell at seeing them, the three 16 year olds were the best of friends. Each of them had something that made them especially lovable. 

Thought they were by no means what books and shows would define as "popular", they weren't unheard of either. They had their little group of friends and that was all they needed.

As far as boys went, Lori was the only one who had snagged a guy. His name was Chris, and though they both disliked him greatly, for Lori's happines, Tara and Becca kept their mouths shut. He was more than a little conceted and arrogant, and all in all got on their nerves, but He constantly was telling Lori how much he loved her and showered her with gifts and wooing, so they let the attitude slide.

As for the two of them, neither was interested in dating, since both had been burned by the hateful sting of betrayel. Coincidentily, it had happened around the same time for them.

Tara's had come the greater shock, as she really did trust her boyfriend (now ex-boyfriend). She was no where near about to start planning a wedding, but she had hoped they would have some good times before they parted, if they did. Sadly though, the mere wish to remain pure until marriage seemed to put things on edge for them, and a few days after that, Tara walked in on her boyfriend and the hottest cheerleader in a...compromising position. Needless to say, she dumped him on the spot. _After _she slammed the corner her thickest and sharpest book into his jewls of course.

With Becca, unfortunately, they had all come to expect it. Hurt though she was, she wasn't surprised. He was just that kind of guy. Loving to Becca one minute, snogging whatever had boobs the next. She too had sent a nice message to his reproduction organs before dumping him, but wasn't quite as crushed as Tara had been. They all comforted each other, and Tara and Becca both remained carefully aware of whatever Chris did. They would _not _let the same thing happen to Lori.

Today had been a great day. Everything had gone nicely, not too much homework, fun classes, no depressing thoughts. The next and last class of the day was choir, and was the one class the three girls looked forward to the most.

The hall echoed with the hyper giggles of the girls, making the other students look over and grin at them. They were known for their hyperness and random acts.

"Perhaps...perhaps the rain will come and turn us all into...lizards!!" Tara cried, staring creepily at the other two before breaking into laughter.

"Or maybe little bugs!" said Lori.

"Eww, I don't want to be a bug! I want to be a...a...wolf!" said Becca, grinning.

"Ah yes. You and the wolf." Tara said knowingly, smirking slightly. "I know you'd just loooooove to be with a certain fictional wolf."

"Oh yes indeed! After all she is a..." Lori said, before trailing off and grinning at Tara.

"Koga lover!" they said together, laughing loudly.

Becca just smiled. She couldn't deny what was true.

"Yep! That's me! But better wolves than _dogs!" _She said with a triumphant grin before ducking a mock swing from Tara.

"Uh oh Lori, she's even starting to ACT like him! Maybe we should start acting like OUR guys!" she said before pretending to put a sword over her shoulder.

"You guys stay here, don't follow me, I can kill the bad guy by myself!" she said, imitating the half-demon Inuyasha's voice sarcastically.

Lori and Becca laughed before Lori went into acting mode as well. She stopped dead in the hall with the stone cold expression of Sesshomaru.

"Give me the tetsuiga Inuyasha! You filthy doggy!"

The girls died laughing, talking about their favorite anime show. They were avid fans and had loved the show forever. It was one thing in their lives that they could truly be happy about together.

Walking into the choir room, they imidiatelly made their way for "their spot." Technically it wasn't theirs, but since that was where they always sat, everyone let them call it theirs. Today, luckily, was a study hall day, since exams were coming up.  
Placing their backpacks down, Tara instantly dove into her bag, grabbing the folder they kept their favorite stories as well as their own stories. Giggling, they discussed the latest story they'd found.

A shadow passed over them, breaking their laughter. They looked up into the faces of their least favorite people. The Brently Brothers, as they had so cornily decided to call themselves. They weren't actually brothers, they just called themselves that because their last names were all Brently, by coincidence. Ooooh, feel the connection.

Anyway, seeing it was them, Tara stood up, Becca following."Did you need something?" Tara asked coldly.

The eldest, Leon, sneered.

"Well do we need something to have to come visit the most beautiful girls in school?" he asked, leering at them. It made the girls want to gag.

"As a matter of fact...yes." Becca said, pretending to think about it.

Leon's face lost it's grin and was replaced by a scowl.

"You three had better start showing some respect. After all, it is a woman's place to be _below _men." His sneer reappeared, and none of the girls were lost to his double meaning.

The coward of the trio, Ian, glanced nervously at the teacher who was oblivious to what was happening at the back of his room.

"Hurry up Leon, we might get caught." he muttered.

"Shut up." Leon snarled, still staring at the two girls who were standing in front of Lori. They had yet to see her, and the girls wanted it kept that way.

Leon reached out and ran his hand along Tara's cheek, and chuckled horribly when she snapped her head back and shoved his hand away.

"You can't fool me baby. I know you're scared of me." He whispered terribly.

Tara held her chin up defiantly.

"If I'm so scared of you, why don't you try something?" she stared him dead in the face, using every bit of her willpower not to show him how scared she really was. "Or...am I not the one who's scared?" She raised an eyebrow and glanced pointedly at the teacher.

Leon saw this and also glanced back. Apparently, their presence near the girls had finally been noticed by him, and he was watching them carefully.

He cursed under his breath before glancing up at the girls again.

"This isn't over." he snarled at them. And with that, he and his cronies marched off the the front of the class to terrorize some poor freshman.

When they were gone, the three girls let out a sigh of relief, before sinking back down to the floor. Tara sat with her back pressed against the wall, with Lori and Becca on either side. They leaned against each other, and after letting the feelings come, Tara couldn't stop the trembles that shook her.

Becca and Lori hugged her from both sides, and shared a glance when they felt how she was shaking.

"I'm okay guys." Tara whispered, but regardless to what she said, her body felt otherwise.

"No you're not." Becca said. "We need to tell Mr. R. about this."

"No!" Tara sat up suddenly. "If we get him into trouble, it'll only make things worse. He knows where I live guys! Who knows what he'll do?" She said, looking between them.

Lori clenched her fist. Sharing another look with Becca, they both knew that what Tara said was true. If they told anyone at all, he would most certainly come after her. And more than likely, it would make death seem merciful.

Too shaken up to move, the girls simply sat there for about half the hour before they could shake it off and timidly begin talking about their favorite people. The cartoon characters of course.

"Wouldn't it just be awesome if they like, just popped out of thin air and protected us?" Tara asked wistfully. The others nodded.

"That would be so cool! They'd just walts right in here, teach those punks a lesson and then finish it off with a kiss!" Lori sighed dreamily.

Becca was now giggling madly.

"A kiss for who? The punks or us?" she laughed harder.

"For us of course!" Lori said smirking.

"I dunno Lori...maybe a kiss is what they need!" Tara joined in, all tension and worry leaving her face to be replaced by the normal cheerfulness that often graced her features. The girls laughed and giggled until the end of class, and when the bell rang, the three of them shot out the door like excited children.

Once outside, the girls dropped their bags by the wall of the school and started off on a walk to wait for their parents to pick them up.

Chatting idly, they didn't notice the strange sounds in front of them until they were almost upon the source of it.

Tara halted them with a scream.

Becca and Lori looked up to see what had scared Tara, and screamed as well.

Dead in front of them was not one, but three ferocious looking dogs locked in battle against each other. One was whiter than new snow, and had a slash against his left paw. One was completely black except for one streak of red down his face. The last one was a warm brown color, and the girls gasped when they realized it was not a dog, but a true wolf.

Backing away fearfully, they tried to not make anymore noise then they already had, but as murphy's law would have it, Tara tripped on a fallen stick and hit the ground with an "oof!"

It was enough to catch the dogs attention. To their horror, the animals stopped fighting, and began moving in their direction.

In the process of helping Tara up, the three teens froze, their eyes fixed in horror at the approaching animals.

Becca gave a small whimper of fear.

Tara whispered to the girls, "Let me go...slowly."

They looked confused but did as they were asked. Gently, the removed their hands from her arms, letting her hands fall softly back to the earth.

The dogs still did not attack.

Tara grew on edge, standing on all fours, waiting for them to attack.

But they didn't.

The black dog with the red streak (which Tara realized was the fur not blood) walked slowly forward, closer to Tara who was doing everything in her power to not move.

Reaching her, the black dog stuck it's nose out and sniffed her thoroughly. The girls were standing fearfully a few feet behind.

Tara opened her eyes that she hadn't known she had clenched, just in time to stare straight into the dogs face.

Blue eyes met golden, and it was truly a weird moment. Which the dog broke by swiftly licking Tara's face.

She almost collapsed from shock.

The two other dogs gave small barks and bounded towards the other girls. The white one towards Lori and the brown one towards Becca, each of them also recieving some doggy kisses.

Tara looked at the black one again. He was now sitting right in front of her, a strange look in his eyes.

"Do you have a home?" She asked it softly, and was surprised when the dogs pointed ears drooped.

Taking a risk, she stretched out her hand to pet the dogs head and was VERY shocked when he moved into her hand.

"Then you can come home with me!" She said cheerfully. Her excitement taking over, she enveloped the huge dog in a hug, before realizing what she was doing and began to pull away, but stayed when the great dog growled at her.

Glancing over at the girls with her arms still around the dog, the girls giggled.

They had found some...really weird new friends.

Deciding to keep the strange animals was simple. It took all of a millisecond to make the decision.

Deciding where to put them? Yeah, a whooole different matter.

They had all three called their families and told them they were going to walk home. Which they did. They just happened to take a side trip to their clubhouse. Their parents had told them not to go there because it was dangerous, but the girls had never listened.

To them it was a safe haven, a place they knew would be safe from prying eyes, and as long as it stood, they would continue to meet there.

Reaching the entrance that led into the glade, Tara let go of the black dog's fur and searched for the specific limb that pulled up the other branches to allow them passage. She found it in little time and soon they were in the glade.

The girls sighed happily, all tension leaving them. It was truly the most beautiful place on earth.

Flowers of every sort grew wildly wherever they pleased, but for some reason weeds did not grow. The wind whispered through the giant trees, creating a soothing song of life and peacefullness. The grass was the greenest ever seen, and soft as wool. The trees were big and beautifully green, reaching up to touch the sky. They were absolutely perfect for climbing. And at night, it seemed like the trees would part to let the stars and moon rain down their light on the beautiful place. The entire glade was magical. So magical, that the girls had never seen fit to give it a name. It would do it an injustice to name is wrongly, so they decided never to take a chance and simply call it "The Glade."

The two dogs and the wolf seemed stunned as the girls had been so many years ago when they had found it as children. The three animals creeped in, stepping soflty as though not to break the magic veil. They sniffed around, touched flowers gently with noses or tongues, before finally coming back to the girls and sitting down in front of them as if to say, "Now what?"

Lori giggled and walked softly over to a vined door on the far side of the glade. She pushed it aside and walked through, followed by the white dog, then the girls and the black dog and brown wolf.

What lie behind the vine door was a staircase. It led up into the trees until you couldn't see it. The dogs looked confusedly to the girls. For some reason, it seemed natural to explain to them.

"When we were around twelve, Lori had broken her foot, so she wasn't able to climb the tree to get to the clubhouse. Since we both knew it would be the best thing for her to be in the Glade, me and Becca talked to some of my dads friends and they agreed to help us build a staircase up to the treehouse. Other than us, they're the only two people to see the Glade." Tara smiled, thinking back. "Of course as a surprise we didn't tell Lori until we helped her out here and showed her the stairs."

"Oh yeah thats right! I remember how shocked I was. I almost cried!" Lori said, a smile lighting her face.

"Almost? You totally cried!" Becca said, giving Lori a loving side hug.

"Well, maybe I cried a little!" they laughed and started up the stairs. It actually wasn't that far up, it just looked it. Within a minute they had reached the door to the clubhouse.

Tara reached in her purse, pulled out her key and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, she turned and flipped on the light, and all the lamps turned on.

You might be wondering how they have not only a staircase to the house, but a lock and electricity? Well, before the whole Lori incedent, pretty much all they had was a wooden square. But after doing such a great job with the staircase, it seemed to their construction friends that the house just didn't do the staircase justice. So for a surprise for all the girls, they build them an entire house in the trees while they were away. Their excuse was they had spare time, but the girls were touched and from then on, made a tradition of wrapping their arms around the two men's necks, kissing them and saying, "Thank you for our home." It embarrassed the two workers, so they made sure they did it all the time.

Sighing happily again, the girls sank into the big bed that they shared when they stayed over. They squealed when the dogs came jumping up with them.

"We have to have names for them. We can't possibly go around calling them, "Hey you!" or "Dog!"...it would just be silly." Becca stated, laying on her back, looking at the ceiling.

Tara nodded. "I agree." She looked up into the face of the black dog who had found a comfortable spot on top of her.

"I'll call you...Inuyasha." she said with a grin. The dog's ears snapped up and his eyes widened before he barked approvingly. The girls laughed.

"Well if you're going to name him Inuyasha, then I simply must name mine Koga!" Becca said, grinning widely also. "Koga" barked as well, his tail wagging.

"And mine will be Sesshomaru! But of course we'll call him Fluffy!" Lori finished, and they all burst out laughing again.

Sesshomaru snuffed, but they could see a small doglike grin on his muzzle.

Tara ran her hand along the top of Inuyasha's head.

"If we can't have the real thing, a beautiful dog is just as good right?" She said, smiling fondly at the animal she was already starting to love. Inuyasha raised his head and licked her hand.

Tara sat up, sitting up against the headboard.

"What _are _we going to do with them? I don't think our parents will be very excited to have a huge animal join the family." She said, thinking of solutions.

Becca also sat up and Lori turned on her side. Koga had his head in Becca's lap and Sesshomaru had his head resting on Lori's side.

"Obviously. Maybe they could stay here?" Becca suggested. Koga and Inuyasha sat up and snuffed disapprovingly. The girls giggled.

"Then again maybe not." she muttered.

Lori chewed on her lip, trying to think of what they could do.

"Maybe they could just sneak into our rooms at night and then leave in the mornings."

"Yeah that would work. But how on earth are we going to feed them? They're huge! We dont have enough money in a month to pay for enough food to feed them for a week!" Becca said, petting Koga's ears. He seemed to be enjoying it, if his closed eyes and lolling tongue were anything to go by.

"I don't know guys. Maybe they could hunt for themselves. There are plenty of rabbits and whatnot out around our houses, and they look more than able to get their own supper. Plus, they probably wouldn't even eat anything we could by them." Tara said, twisting a lock of her brown hair around her finger. She giggled when Inuyasha reached up and licked her face.

"I'm just so surprised that they're so gentle. They looked so ferocious when they were fighting." Becca said, looking to each animal. They wagged their tails innocently, causing the girls to laugh.

"I know. They act like they know us or something." Tara said. "Maybe we were meant to find them." She said with a smile.

Lori and Becca grinned.

"Totally! And just think! If anyone picks on us, we can say, "Sick him!" and they will!" Lori said.

"Maybe...or they might chase their tails!" Becca said, and they laughed again.

Tara's face lost some of it's laughter. The girls caught the look and Becca touched her hand.

"Maybe the reason we found them was so they could protect us from the Bently Brothers." She said confidently.

Inuyasha's ears were up and he moved closer to Tara.

"Maybe." she whispered, not sounding incredibly confident. Shaking it off, she hugged her friends, then placed her first kiss on Inuyasha's nose. He wagged his tail.

"So what should we do with them?" she asked the girls.

"I say we just take them home and sneak them into our rooms." Lori said.

Becca and Tara nodded.

"It's the only thing we can do." Becca said.

The girls spend a few more minutes bathing in the soothing touch of their house and the glade before reluctantly making their way down the stairs, followed by the dogs. Feeling happy, the group left their haven and made their way home.

The girls were lucky enough to live in the save neighborhood, each of them only a house away from one another. At the top of the street they hugged and split for their houses, each making their way to the window to let in the dogs before walking around to the front door.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" Tara yelled into the house, and was met by the happy welcome of her small terrior, Abby.

"Hey baby." She said fondly, scratching her ears. She could hear Inuyasha growling softly from inside her room. Abby caught his scent and barked, sniffing eagerly at the crack in the door.

Tara giggled and walked through the house, looking for her parents. She found a note on the bar.

"Hey baby girl, gone to get groceries, be back soon! Love, Mom." Tara read aloud.

"Well that's good. Atleast Inuyasha won't have to be locked up while they're gone." She walked to her bedroom door and opened it. Very quickly there was a huge black blur heading directly for a tiny white blur and Tara laughed her head off watching the two dogs sniff madly at each other. Tara crouched down beside Inuyasha.

"No puppies mister. Got it?" She asked the big dog. Inuyasha stared at her, his eyes clearly saying, "Do you think I'm stupid?"

Tara giggled and rubbed his ears. Standing up, she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and walked back into her room, letting her dogs into the room with her.

Abby headed straight for her bed and curled up, while Inuyasha stayed right by Tara's side. Petting his head absently, she logged in to msn.

Instantly she pulled up a chat window with Lori who was on.

**Inuyasha'sWife15 says:**  
Hey chica whats up? How's fluffy? giggles  
**Sesshy'sLover says:  
**Not much. Fluffy's fine, he almost got us in trouble!!! 0.0  
**Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
**omg how???  
**Sesshy'sLover says:  
**Well, he was moving around in my room and his tail hit my lamp and it fell off the table.  
**Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
**OMG!!! did you get caught???  
**Sesshy'sLover says:  
**No actually. Mom just yelled at me to quit bouncing around.  
**Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
**phew! Inuyasha's fine, the rents and bothers actually went to get groceries, so we have the house to ourselves. Woot woot!

**Koga'sSheWolf Has Just Signed In!! **

Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
ah sweet, Bex just signed in, hold on I'll make a conference.

**Koga'sSheWolf has just joined the conversation!! **

Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
Hey chica! How the wolf?  
**Koga'sSheWolf says:  
**Hey guys! Koga's fine, he's sitting here next to my chair staring at the screen. It's kind of creepy actually.  
**Sesshy'sLover says:  
**Lol! maybe he's reading our every word! mwahahahhaa  
**Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
**Actually thats kind of creepy to think about. Inuyasha sitting here watching me too.  
**Sesshy'sLover says:  
**I dunno, maybe they're just really smart.  
**Koga'sSheWolf says:  
**yeah. We all did say they weren't ordinary dogs.  
**Inuyasha'sWife15:  
**Yeah maybe...well I gtg guys. I think I see the rents in the drive way. If they see Inuyasha?...  
**Sesshy'sLover says:  
**We understand, now go!!  
**Koga'sSheWolf says:  
**Yeah go hide that big doggy! lol bye!  
**Inuyasha'sWife15 says:  
**lol okay! Bye!!

Tara signed out and peeked out the window. Yep it was definitely her parents. She looked at Inuyasha who was still watching her with his golden eyes.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you _could _read what we were saying." She said thoughfully to the dog. Inuyasha just stared back at her.

Tara heard the creak of the door.

"Tara? We're home! Are you here?" she heard her mom ask.

"Yeah mom, I'm here!" she called back.

Then she jumped. Her brothers were sure to come in here, and if they did, they'd see Inuyasha.

She looked around frantically.

"Go hide!" she begged him, unable to find any place a dog of his size could hide.

To her amazement, he jumped down from the side chair he'd been sitting in, and darted for her closet, effectively concealing himself.

Tara closed her gaping mouth and made a mental note to tell her friends about it.

It was no more than a few seconds after Inuyasha's tail had whipped out of sight that Tara's little brothers, Nick and Adam, came charging into her room to show her the newest cheapie toy they had blown their money on.

She oooed and aaaed the stuff for a few minutes then shooed her brothers out. The instant her bedroom door closed, Inuyasha slid out and sat beside her again, wagging his tail and grinning.

Tara giggled. Looking at the clock, she noticed it was getting later than she had thought. '7:46' pm. the clock said.

"We must have spent longer at our house than we realized." Tara said thoughtfully. Inuyasha sniffed and looked towards the bed then back to her.

Tara raised an eyebrow. "If you were human, I'd almost be offended." she grinned and petted his ears. She realized that she was actually quite tired. A little extra sleep couldn't possibly do her harm. Picking up her cellphone, she quickly three wayed the girls.

"Yo Monkey!" Becca answered.

Tara laughed. "Yo penguin! Hold on one sec, I'll three-way Lori."

"Kay."

Another couple of buttons and Lori answered the phone.

"Hey sweetheart, what's up?"

"I have Bex on the other line, I wanna tell you both something."

Another button and they were all together.

"So whatcha gota tell us?" Asked Becca.

Tara told them about him hiding in the closet, as well as the obvious motion towards the bed.

As she expected, both of the girls were in fits of laughter when she finished.

"I think your dog likes you Tara!" Lori said, and another round of laughter followed. Tara couldn't help but grin.

"Well anyway, I think I might just go with what he said and go to bed. I'm actually really tired." she said with a smile.

"Yeah me too. Early supper and bed sounds fabulous to me." Said Becca.

"Well then ladies, I say we all hang up, grab something to eat, and go to bed!" Said Lori.

"Amen! Love ya girls! Bye!" Tara laughed.

"Bye!" Becca and Lori said together, and they all hung up.

Placing her phone on her bedside table, she told Inuyasha softly to stay in the room, and she slipped out. Quickly making a small turkey sandwhich, she kissed her mom and told her she was going to bed early. Her mom nodded and said,

"That's probably a good thing." She smiled and touched Tara's face. "You have been a little grouchy lately."

Tara laughed and kissed her mothers cheek.

"Love ya mom. Night."

"Night sweetheart."

She quickly scarfed down the sandwhich and washed it down with another water bottle before she went to her room and closed the door.

Sitting on her bed, straight and tall was Inuyasha, looking like he owned the place.

Tara smirked.

"You're going to have to turn around you know. I can't possibly undress in front of a guy." of course she knew that him being a dog it wouldn't really matter, but it was more fun to pretend.

Inuyasha sniffed disdainfully, but to her surprise, turned around to face the wall.

Tara laughed gleefully and quickly stripped and replaced her dirty clothes for warm pajamas. She pulled the curtains closed to make the room dark and pulled the blankets back.

Quickly snuggling in and turning off the light, Tara let out a sigh of contentment. A rustle of fur against blankets was all that was heard as Inuyasha placed himself to her left side, his paw draping over Tara's stomach and his head so close to hers that she could feel his breath.

"You don't believe in personal space do you?" she asked jokingly. Truth be told, she wasn't at all bothered by him. Actually it made her feel safer, and with all the turmoil with Leon Bently, it was a nice feeling.

Inuyasha sniffed again and licked her face, getting the message through clearly for her to go to sleep.

Tara obeyed and with a gentle scratch of Inuyasha's ears, closed her eyes and went to sleep with a smile on her face.

_Tara sighed as the comforting feeling of gentle hands pulled her close, embracing her, and she shivered as a gentle kiss was placed on her neck. Turning around she stared into golden eyes, framed by long black locks. She leaned forward to kiss the man's lips... _

Tara's eyes snapped open. She looked around, bewildered, at her surroundings, before everything that had happened came back to her.

She put her hand to her face and felt the warmth of a blush. Looking around for Inuyasha, she saw him laying at the foot of her bed, his golden eyes wide open and staring straight at her.

Tara stared in surprise at him, thinking how vivid her dream had been.

"You surely are getting to me boy. And it hasn't even been a full day yet!" she said softly to him. He didn't move, just acknowledged that she said something by blinking.

Laying back down, she closed her eyes. She could feel the warmth of Inuyasha on her legs, and it comforted her. Soon, she had fallen asleep again. This time though, dreamlessly.

One of the ways you don't want to be woken up is by your alarm clock. Another is the startling sound of your phone vibrating on a hard surface next to your head. Tara jumped awake and grabbed her phone. Flipping it open she answered it.

"Yeah?" She said sleepily.

"Tara! They're gone!!" Two voices said at once.

The sleepiness instantly left her as she realized what her friends were saying. She looked around for Inuyasha, but he too was gone. She felt her heart stop and her breath caught in her throat. For some reason, the fact that he was gone terrified her.

"Okay, okay...we just need to calm down guys. They're wild dogs, they probably just went to hunt." Tara said, looking for any excuse other than they had left the girls.

"But how would they have gotten out?" Becca asked, the worry in her voice clear.

"I don't know. But we've had evidence all day of how these aren't ordinary animals. They act like they understand us! It can't possibly be hard for them to figure out a simple lock and door handle." Tara said, surprised when the answer actually made sense. Inuyasha _had _proven that he understood things, if wouldn't have been that hard for him to slip out.

"Okay, so they're hunting, we'll go with that, but what are they going to do when they see we're gone?" Lori asked.

Tara sighed sadly.

"Guys...I know that we already love them but...we have to face the fact that we've had them a day. We don't own them, and frankly, they aren't likely animals to _be _owned. If they left to be free, then we have to accept it." Saying this aloud made Tara's heart rip, and she felt a warm tear trickle down her cheek.

Sniffles from the girls were heard from the other side of the phone.

"Yeah." Becca said. "After all, Koga atleast was a wolf. And I don't think Sesshomaru and Inuyasha were ordinary dogs either."

"Yeah. They were too smart." Lori said sadly as well.

Tara sighed. "Well we might as well get ready for school guys. Let's just hope everyone leaves us alone today." she said thinking of a certain creep who terrified her.

Lori and Becca must have understood what she meant.

"We'll make sure he leaves you alone today Tara." Lori said.

"Totally! We'll do karate on him if we need to!" Becca said, trying to lighten the mood.

Tara laughed a little. "Thanks. Well I'll see you at the bus stop in a few. Bye!"

"Bye!" the girls answered.

Tara flipped her phone closed, and just for one minute, let herself have the comfort of crying into her pillow.

The girls in unison felt like the death angel had come. Why they felt like this, they had no clue. All they knew was those dogs were meant to find them, and now that they were gone, they felt like their hearts had run away with them.

Eating breakfast, getting dressed, checking that all the school stuff was there, the girls seperately got ready for school.

Like a rehearsed play, they opened the door, stepped out, and walked from three seperate houses. They met at the corner, hugged each other, and started walking down the sidewalk.

The walk was in complete silence, which was strange for the usually very cheerful girls. Tara looked up, noticing that the other kids that were usually at their stop were no where to be seen.

"Where do ya think?..." she started, but didn't finish as Becca and Lori screamed.

Jumping, Tara stared at them.

"What?" she screamed back.

The girls pointed towards the busstop, and together said,

"Look!!"

Tara turned slowly, and gasped, tears forming again in her eyes.

There, sitting side by side, were the dogs. They wagged their tails as the girls ran up to them, and didn't seem to mind as a girl hugged the life out of them. They seemed to understand that it was simply a girl thing.

Tara hugged Inuyasha tight, her day getting better by the milisecond.

She pulled away and gently grabbed Inuyasha's black ears.

"Don't do that again!" She told him. "Please." she finished softly. Inuyasha reached out and licked her face. Tara giggled and kissed his nose.

Looking over, she saw Lori and Becca in similar positions with their dogs.

Tara laughed.

"How on earth are we so attached to these guys already? We haven't even been on a second date yet!" She laughed.

The girls laughed with her.

"I know! It must be their charm!" Said Lori.

"Or their good looks!" Becca added.

"Or maybe it's just cuz they're so darn adorable!" Tara said, and kissed Inuyasha again.

Standing up, but still keeping a hold of the dogs fur, Tara looked around.

"Guys, the walk to school isn't that far. I wanna spend more time with Inuyasha before we have to go to school." She said, and the girls caught her meaning. What she actually meant was she wanted to feel safe a little longer before having to face Leon.

You might be thinking that she worries a little too much about Leon. You're wrong. Leon had been harassing her since she started school, and if she hadn't had her friends, she probably would have dropped.

Becca nodded, standing up as well.

"I agree. It won't kill us to walk a little ways. It can't be more than 15 blocks." she said, petting the wolfs head. His tongue was lolling out and his eyes were rolling in his head. Do you think he was enjoying himself?

"Well then, lets go!" Lori said, and took off at a fast walk with the giant white dog.

Laughing, the girls and dogs raced to school, and for them, the race ended waaaay too soon. It was with dissappointment that their eyes fell upon the high school.

A loud honking startled them, and they looked to see the Bently Brothers drive by, giving leering stares as they passed.

The girls were startled to see Koga, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha burst into furious snarls, staring after the car, their hair on end.

Tara unthinkingly laid a hand on Inuyasha's hand, not even considering that her could have bitten her. But under her touch, his snarls faded slowly until they died, even though his ears never laid back.

She saw that Koga and Sesshomaru were acting likewise, and the girls all shared a glance. They finished the walk up to the school, but as they started to enter the building, the dogs didn't leave their sides.

Tara grinned.

"Should we have a personal bodyguard?" she asked.

"The school wouldn't allow it!" Lori said.

"What would they do? Tell them to leave?" Tara asked. The dogs were still clearly on edge, and looked ready to attack anything that moved.

"True. And plus, if people ask, which they will, we can tell them that they're severly over protective. Which is the truth." Becca added.

Happily, the girls parted, going to their seperate classes. Amazingly, the halls parted for the three of them, and people stared and gasped and screamed and whatnot at the sight of them.

Tara walked through the halls with an innocent smile with her hand firm on Inuyasha's fur. Better not to take any chances.

"Oh won't choir be interesting." she said, and looked forward to it more than she ever had before.

The day passed surprisingly fast, and was probably the best day they'd ever had. The teachers all screamed and threatened to call security until each girl would explain that the dogs simply could not be stopped from coming with them., And after asking the teacher if _they _wanted to

escort the dog away from the girls that they were so obviously protecting, all arguement stopped and the class went by as smoothly as possible. You wouldn't believe how quiet a rowdy class is when there is a ferocious looking dog that could totally rip your leg off is near.

Finally, the bell rang, signalling that the students were to go to their sixth hours. Tara grinned at Inuyasha and grabbed her stuff. Once again, the hallways were cleared, everyone trying their best to steer clear of the animals.

Walking in the door, the girls re-united at the back of the room, and the dogs plopped themselves comfortably beside them.

Their attention was caught by the teacher.

"Uh, people! People, excuse me! Uh, um, due to some...extra members of the um, choir...we will be having another study hall!" He stuttered, his eyes constantly moving up to the dogs who were looking up at him hungrily. When you see a dog look at you like that, you run.

And he did.

The girls laughed and gently told their dogs to stop looking at the teacher like that. They finished what homework they had and decided to simply talk, so with the dogs lying with their heads in the girls laps, they enjoyed the last hour.

Everything was broken by the three dogs sitting up and snarling. Looking up as well, the girls saw the predictable sight of the Bently Brothers, although not looking quite as sure of themselves. Tara grinned.

"What's wrong Leon? This is my dog, Inuyasha. Oh, don't mind him, he hunted this morning." She said smiling brightly, putting emphasis on hunted. Leon twitched.

"So scared you have to bring a stupid guard dog to school now?" Leon sneered, but his sneer lacked it's normal confidence.

"Nah, he just wants to make sure I'm safe. I just couldn't talk him out of it!" She said smiling. Sesshomaru and Koga moved to stand beside Inuyasha who was directly in front of Tara. The brothers took several steps back.

"Not scared are you Leon?" Lori asked, smirking as well.

"Yeah! I wouldn't have thought the great Leon to be scared!" Becca added, grinning widely.

"Better watch your mouth girls. Or Tara just might pay the price for it." He snarled at them, making it clear how much she would suffer if he got too fed up.

"Yeah sure, now why don't you go away, you're stinking up our spot." Tara said, wrinkling her nose.

Leon's eye twitched again and he pushed the other two boys out of the way, moving rapidly down the steps and cursing.

The girls burst into laughter, moving up to hug the dogs tightly.

"You were great!" Tara told Inuyasha quietly. He nuzzled her face and sniffed in Leon's direction as if to say, "Humph!"

The girls giggled and gathered their stuff up as the bell rang.

"Ah! It's a four day weekend!" Becca said in surprise.

Tara pumped her fist into the air.

"Yes! Free days!" She said, slapping Lori a high-five. They all three still had firm holds on the dogs, but the guys didn't seem to mind much. They simply walked beside the girls with their heads held proudly, sniffing disdainfully at random people.

Walking out the doors and heading for home, they raced each other again. The wind rushed through them and the dogs kept at the girls pace, ears flapping as they ran together.

They all slowed in order to not crash into each other as the entrance of the glade approached.

Tara looked in the direction of the path and whispered softly, "Guys, do you hear that?"

The girls became silent and strained to hear.

"Hear what?" Becca asked.

"The sound of someone in the glade." Tara said with worry.

Once glance was all it took for the girls to decide, and taking the dogs, they took a side path and plunged into the trees.

* * *

**A.N: Well what do you think? It's my first fanfic written by myself so please review and tell me your thoughts! Laters! **

EyesofOceanFlame


	2. Dreams in the Haven

**A.N: _Hey again! Thank you so much to the people who reviewed! I LOVE YOU! You guys totally made my day, and you were all also the reason this chapter is here as fast as it is. Read and Review!! tosses gummy bears to all_**  
**DISCLAIMER:...come on...if I owned this stuff, do you think I'd be here? rolls her eyes Puh-lease.**

_Chapter Two Dreams In the Haven_

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The three girls plunged into the trees, the three dogs leading the way. Swiftly dodging in and out of the branches that they knew so well, they all speeded towards their glade.

Though technically it didn't belong to them, they felt like the Glade had meant for them to find it, and they felt  
obligated to protect and fight for it.

Strangely enough, it seemed that the dogs understood the need to get to the Glade, because they were practically flying over the ground, although never leaving the girls sight.

Suddenly they all three slammed to a stop and raised their noses to the air, sniffing.

The entrance to the Glade was only a few feet away.

The girls skidded and Tara even tripped, falling right on top of Inuyasha's back. Becca and Lori giggled a little bit at her and Inuyasha calmly licked her cheek before returning to sniffing the air. Tara stood up, brushed herself off, and motioned for the girls to follow.

The girls and the dogs moved silently up to the gate, and looking at each other, they made a decision and nodded.

"Go boy!!" They yelled together at the dogs, who took their cue and darted into the Glade entrance.

After waiting five seconds, they tore in after them, but were frozen stock still by the sight that met their eyes.

The three ferocious dogs, who by the way, were all hip tall at the shoulder, whose fangs and growl could easily scare the bravest man...were running around in circles chasing after the intruder.

Which happened to be a bunny.

"A bunny?" Lori said, mouth gaping.

"We followed a bunny?" Becca asked as well.

Tara sank to her knees on the emerald green floor.

"We got all worked up...over a freaking rabbit?!" she yelled dramatically, and fell fully to the ground.

Becca and Lori began laughing, also falling to the ground and cackling their heads off.

The dogs didn't seem to mind, as they were having a lot of fun chasing after that darned rabbit. Yapping and barking like puppies, Inuyasha, Koga, and even Sesshomaru ran around after the poor little creature.

The rabbit was obviously not smart enough to realize that if he simply left the Glade he'd stop being chased. Dumb creature.

Tara got up off the floor and moved over to where the girls were still giggling and smacked them fondly on the heads. The girls grinned and yanked her down to sit between them. For several minutes they just watched the dogs chase the mentally challenged bunny around in circles in their haven.

"We should have a sleepover guys." Lori said, and looked at the girls.

"Oh my gosh we so should! We haven't had a sleepover in ages!" Becca said excitedly.

"Yeah! I'm so bringing the movies!" Tara squealed.

Lori giggled.

"Alrighty then, how bout we all go to our houses and get stuff, then come back here and watch movies till dawn?" she asked.

"Woohoo!!" Tara and Becca cried.

This must have distracted the dogs from their chase, since the bunny somehow got away. Inuyasha and Koga seemed to pout as they walked over to Tara and Becca and plopped down beside them. Sesshomaru sniffed and walked gracefully over to Lori before sitting beside her, head held high.

Lori had noticed when she'd taken him home last night that he always stayed very close to her, but never lied his head in her lap or licked her face like Inuyasha and Koga often did the girls.

While it saddened her somewhat, she told herself that it was truly the way she would have expected the real Sesshomaru to act.

'I certainly picked a good name for you, didn't I Sesshomaru?' she thought to herself as she looked at the white dog beside her.

He must have sensed her looking at him, because his head turned to look at her. His golden eyes were almost catlike, and showed a sharp mind behind them.

As the girls had realized before, these animals were much, much smarter than normal creatures. Probably than many humans they knew.

"Lori?" she heard her name and snapped back to reality.

"Yeah?" she asked, looking at the girls.

"You wanna come back to the Glade now?" Becca asked grinning.

Tara giggled.

"She must have been daydreaming about her favorite demon." she said as she hugged Inuyasha.

Lori smiled and said, "Actually...I was. I was just thinking how much Sesshomaru reminds me of the real Sesshomaru." 

"How so?" Tara asked.

"He'll sit by me like he is now, but doesn't lick at my face or pull at my clothes or anything. And he acts so dignified." Lori said thoughtfully.

Tara tilted her head in thought.

"I can see how you'd think that. He does act very...well dignified." she said with a smile.

Becca stood up and brushed her pants off.

"Well chica's, lets get to our houses! I wanna start watching movies!" she said, reaching out her hands which the girls took.

Tara also brushed herself off and righted her skirt.

"Watch movies, talk about guys, consume junkfood." she ticked off her fingers.

The girls laughed and Lori smacked her on the back of the head.

"Consumed? You're such a drama queen!" Lori and Becca slapped high fives.

Tara sighed.

"I'm so abused. The only one who loves me is Inuyasha!" she cried to the sky, but was quickly enveloped in a hug from both sides.

"Nah just kidding Darlin', we love you!" Lori said.

"Yeah! If we didn't, we wouldn't pick on you!" Becca said, a large smirk on her face.

"Choking! Can't...breath!" Tara said, then started laughing and hugged her friends back.

They all walked arm in arm for the way back to the road. When they reached it, they were only about five blocks from the split up.

A smirk covering Tara's face, she swiftly pulled her arms from the girls, slapped their arms and yelled, "Race ya!" and quickly took off with Inuyasha.

"Hey! You cheater!" Lori cried and ran after her with Becca beside her.

Lori looked at Sesshomaru who was running smoothly beside her. She grinned.

"Go get her boy!" She told him.

Sesshomaru's white ears flicked and he seemed to grin before putting on a burst of speed that quickly caught him up to Tara.

Tara noticed that she had a big white blur quickly closing in on her and screamed, diving for her house door.

Lori and Becca saw Tara and Inuyasha slip into the house and close the door and started laughing.

Suddenly they heard a blood curdling scream from inside her house and darted.

Reached the door, Lori and Becca pounded on the door.

"Tara?? Tara!! Open this door! What's wrong?" the girls screamed, and didn't even notice that Sesshomaru and Koga were sitting probably five feet away with doggy grins written all over their faces.

Lori heard a sound from behind the door, and the front door wrenched open, revealing a grinning Tara.

"Just kidding!" and the door slammed closed again before Lori and Becca could strangle her.

They heard her laughter on the other side of the door and began laughing as well, both of them heading for their houses.

"Meet in five minutes!" Lori yelled to Becca as they parted, who nodded and went inside her house with Koga.

"Come on Sesshomaru." Lori said fondly to the white dog, and walked inside her house. She made her way quickly downstairs to her room, hearing the soft pads of Sesshomaru's feet on the carpet.

"Do you know where I put that bag Sesshomaru? I had it last night." she said aloud, looking in her closet, under her bed, in the bathtub, anywhere she could think of to find her bag.

She was beginning to get irritated when she turned around to see Sesshomaru on her bed with the bag beside him. He had a proud look on his face. Kind of like, "Stupid girl." but a little nicer than that.

Lori giggled and said, "oh." and started throwing random things in her bag.

Sesshomaru watched as mp3 player, speakers, laptop, cd's, movies, notebooks all flew into the bag. He watched as Lori stood in front of him, thinking of what else she needed.

"Oh...clothes!" Lori giggled again and moved to her closet.

Standing in her closet, she grabbed the clothes she wanted to wear as well as pajamas, and heard a strange sound that sounded like laughter. Poking her head out of her clost door, she stared at Sesshomaru.

He was sniffing and rubbing his nose. Somehow, still looking dignified.

Lori laughed. "Am I amusing you My lord?" she asked sarcastically. Sesshomaru sniffed again and she laughed all the harder.

Finally getting everything in her bag that she wanted, she turned out all the lights and left the room. She locked the front door as she left and when to the meeting point in between the three houses. Becca was waiting for her there with Koga.

Lori smiled as she watched Becca rub Koga's head and him slip his head beneath her arm and snatch the hair tie from her hair. She laughed and waved at them.

Becca saw her and grinned.

"Tara late?" Lori asked.

Becca rolled her eyes fondly and nodded.

"Probably looking for the videos. As much as she loves them, she's constantly misplacing them." she said.

"Speaking of devils..." Lori trailed off sarcastically as they saw Tara walk out her door.

"I heard that!" they heard her yell, her back turned as she locked the door.

After securing the lock, she ran quickly across the road, Inuyasha padding along with her.

"Ready?" she asked, hefting her bag strap higher on her shoulder.

"Yep!" Lori and Becca answered, and the trio once again linked arms and made their way back to their house, their dog companions running around them.

The journey to The Glade was shorter than usual it seemed, and within no time at all, they were at the vine door, slipping through and making their way up their staircase.

They were laughing and chatting like normal teen girls as they marched into their home in the trees, throwing their bags every which way and tossing their shoes off.

"How bout some tunes?" Becca said with a grin, and pushed a cd into the stereo, cranking up the volume.

Thats a great thing about having a house not only in an isolated place, but also in the sky. You could turn your music up pretty darn loud!

To their delight, the first song that played on her homemade cd was "Can't Fight The Moonlight." More than likely because of their obsession with the Inuyasha men, they positively loved this song.

At one point in time, they had even come up with a dance for it!

So, dressed in pj pants and their t-shirts, they danced around the room, watching only by the eyes of their dogs. Who were clearly enjoying the show, judging by the wagging tails they were trying to hide.

"Can't fight the moonlight noooo!" They sang at the top of their voices, giddy with excitement and all tension of the day washing away.

When the song ended, they plopped down on the bed, out of breath but smiling.

"Who's up for soda and a certain show?" Tara asked, and jumped up to run to their minifridge, which was among their most cherished posessions.

Lori and Becca held up their hands, and as soon as the soda's were in their grasp, proceeded to press the cold cans to each others necks. Call it a tradition of sorts. Who can make the other scream loudest, or something like that.

Having lost the coke war, Lori got up and pushed the cd in, then plopped down on the furry rug in front of the tv with her friends. The dogs laid themselves comfortably around them, and as she expected, Sesshomaru laid down beside her, keeping contact but never making another move.

Lori nudged Tara, who was in the middle and said, "Typical male huh? Never makes the first move!" Tara laughed and relayed the message to Becca who also laughed. Then the sound of their favorite show came from the speakers and they squealed and watched.

It was their favorite episode ever of Inuyasha, one that showed all three of their guys! Typical Inuyasha and Koga fighting over Kagome and Sesshomaru waltzing around killing little things and smiling when the worlds doom is near. And the girls totally loved it.

They sang along with the japanese song, just mouthing along nonsense with the japanese parts they didn't know. Lori noticed that the dogs ears perked up at hearing the introduction of the show. But then her attention was diverted by the show.

They laughed, quoted lines, and snorted at the retarted things the boys did.

They all three noticed though, that the dogs seemed much more interested in the show than normal things.

Raising an eyebrow, Tara rubbed Inuyasha's ears, as his head was in her lap. He had just been growling and sniffing at something the show Koga had said. Something along the lines of "FIlthy Mutt." You know, normal Koga behavior.

Becca leaned over and whispered to them. 

"They sure are acting funny."

"Maybe they're identifying with their characters!" Lori giggled. She squealed as Lord Sesshomaru came on screen, did some powerful demon stuff, abused Jaken (which they all thought was hilarious.

Lori saw Sesshomaru even sniff a couple times which she could have sworn sounded like snorts of laughter) and called Inuyasha stupid. Again, typical Sesshomaru behavior.

The girls watched in silence as Koga wiggled closer to Inuyasha from where he lay across Becca's lap and nipped at Inuyasha's tail, making him growl .

Becca patted Koga gently on the head in disapproval and Koga wagged his tail innocently.

Tara was giggling her head off at all of this, and was surprised to feel something flicker around her waist. She looked down and noticed it was a black tail. She looked at Inuyasha who was seemingly staring innocently at the tv.

"Yes?" she asked, grinning. Inuyasha ignored her, so she turned her attention back to the show.

For the rest of the show the dogs behaved themselves and the girls were free to enjoy the show, each other, and the comforting presence of the dogs.

Around midnight, the three of them began drifting asleep. Not even bothering to pull out the other beds, the girls curled up next to their dog and went to sleep.

Becca lay with her head on Koga's stomach, his tail lying across her stomach, and Tara was in a position quite like that. She looked like she had a fluffly black scarf. A biiig scarf.

The last one to fall asleep, Lori blinked sleepily, watching the tv blearily as the credits ran. Slowly she layed her head down on the rug, and just as she was drifting asleep, felt a soft warmth around her.

Burrowing into the soft white fur, she fell asleep with a peaceful smile on her face.

_Lori looked around the dark room, lit only with a soft crystal lamp. Taking in her surroundings, she saw she was standing in the center of a room, with the door straight in front of her._

The room was gorgeous, elegant and antique looking, almost as if it were from a fairy-tale castle picture.

She shivered as a cold wind brushed across her shoulders, and a sound pulled her attention to the door.

She watched with wide eyes as it opened slowly, light pouring into the room, almost blinding her.

She shielded her eyes and saw a large figure standing in the light of what looked like a hall.

"Who's there?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

"Fear not love, it's me." a smooth, deep voice answered her. She shivered again, but it wasn't from the cold. 

"Are you cold?" the voice asked with concern.

"A little." Lori answered truthfully.

"Here." She saw the figure move and something very soft and very heavy was placed around her shoulders, and she gasped as she was pulled close to the man.

"Who are _you?" she asked, but strangely, felt no fear._

She saw the figure smile, and caught a glimpse of fangs. She never heard what he whispered, all she could think about was him leaning down and pressing his lips to hers in a warm kiss.  
Lori's eyes snapped open, and mentally she groaned.'It was such a nice dream!' she sighed aloud, and felt a wet nose touch her cheek.

She looked up into golden-brown eyes and smiled.

"Hey Fluffy." she said, and kissed his nose. To her surprise, he didn't do anything except put his head back down next to hers.

Deciding to think about it in the morning, she closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

The only ones who weren't asleep, were the three dogs who simply stared at one another, eyes glittering in the darkness.


	3. Close Encounter

**  
A.N: _Woohoo! Two chapters in a day! Yay! Thanks SO much to my reviewers, I adore you guys!! You all get marshmallows!! throws tons of marshmallows Read and Review! I'll love you for it!_**

**DISCLAIMER: _Duh. If I owned this stuff, I wouldn't be here with all the other fanfic people!!_**  
_Close Encounter_

Becca's eyes opened slowly, blinking against the light flooding in through the windows. She pulled the blanket over her head with a groan.

'What? Blanket? We didn't go to sleep with a blanket!' Becca thought, but saw proof that it was indeed a blanket that lay on her. She saw the girls also had blankets wrapped around them.

Becomingly increasingly worried, Becca stayed still and surveyed the house, trying to find any evidence that someone had been there. Finding nothing, she closed her eyes, before opening them up again.

Then she looked up into Koga's green eyes and nearly screamed.

She grabbed his ear in fright and whispered harshly to him.

"Are you trying to give me a heart attack wolf? You nearly scared me to death!" she quietly yelled. Koga didn't seem to mind. He simply grabbed onto a lock of her hair and pulled as well. He probably thought she was playing tug-a-war.

"Ahh! Ahh! Ahh! stop it!" she told him, still whispering.

Suddenly, the dream she'd had came to her vividly.

She gave a dreamy smile, and Koga tilted his head curiously.

He nudged her hand and she look to him.

"I had a nice dream. I dreamed about...well...about you I suppose." she said, thinking it over as she patted his head. "Koga was telling me that it was all going to be alright because he, Sesshomaru, and Inuyasha were all going to protect us."

She sighed happily and continued.

"And then...he hugged me...and kissed me! And then acted like typical Koga and told me I was his woman." she giggled and kissed Koga's nose.

She glanced over at the clock and saw that it was close to noon.

"Might as well make some lunch for them when they wake up." She told Koga, who licked his chops at the sound of food. She grinned and rolled her eyes.

"Human or dog, men are all alike." she snorted and stood up silently and started cooking an amazing lunch of...microwavable foods!! She was truly gifted in her art.

She stuffed her food in the microwave and sank into the giant bean-bag, patting beside her for Koga to jump up beside her, which he did.

He placed his head in her lap and she grinned and scratched his ears. She leaned down and kissed his head and said in his ear,

"I'm glad we found you guys."

Koga looked up at her, and simply stared. Actually it was kind of freaky.

Becca was distracted as movement came from the brunnette stirring on the rug.

"Waking up sleeping beauty?" she asked cheerfully.

Tara lifted her head, hair all over the place and a great deal of it in her face.

"Do I look like I'm awake?" she asked, her voice gruff with sleep.

"Hmm...waking dead maybe." Becca said before getting a pillow thrown in her face.

"Shut up!" Tara laughed and struggled to get up and not fall down, sleep still weighing her down. She stumbled her way over to Becca, kneeled down by her legs and pushed Koga out of the way so she could lay her head down on Becca's lap.

"Pet _me _Mommy!" Tara whined with a pout.

Becca laughed and dramatically petted her head, messing her hair up even more.

"Poor...little...sleep...baby." she said, no sympathy in her voice, but a whooole lot of sarcasm.

Tara snorted.

"You're such a loving mother." she muttered and stood up again to go in search of her brush.

Seeing Inuyasha awake, Tara's face lit up and she hugged the black dog, kissing the red stripe on his head. He replied with a soft lick on the cheek that made her giggle.

"Quit kissing your dog and fix your hair, you're traumatizing me!" Becca said.

Tara glared at her.

"If you don't shut up, I'm gunna brush my hair, then stick it up your nose." she threatened, waving her newly found brush around dangerously.

Accidentily, she lost her hold on it, and it soared through the air, hitting Lori on the head.

Becca burst into laughter and Tara ran over to Lori.

"Oh my gosh Lori I'm so sorry! It...slipped." she said, trying to keep her giggles in.

Lori looked up and literally growled at her.

Tara laughed and walked away.

"The boogie-woman isn't ready to rise." she grinned and continued brushing her hair until it was back to its usual smoothness.

She was about to put her brush down when she saw Inuyasha looking at it strangely.

"Would you like to be brushed Inuyasya?" she asked, and looked for another brush. She sat down in her chair.

"Come-ere boy!" she said, and Becca watched as Inuyasha padded to her and put his head on her leg.

"I'd laugh if he bit you." Becca said sweetly.

"And I'd laugh if Koga pee'd on you." Tara said, not even bothering to look up.

Becca was in tears she was laughing so hard.

"Speaking of which, has anyone let them out?" a voice came from the bundle of blankets that was Lori.

"Um, no." Becca said

"We were busy sleeping. And dreaming." Tara said, grinning happily.

"They better not make a mess in here." They heard Lori say. Becca grinned and turned back to Tara.

"You dreamed too? What about?" Becca asked, running her hands through Koga's thick brown fur.

"Inuyasha of course! The cartoon Inuyasha, not this Inuyasha." Tara answered, motioning to the dreamy-eyed dog sitting under her brush. He obviously was enjoying her ministrations.

"Really? I dreamed about Koga. It's was really nice." Becca said, smiling as well. "He kissed me." 

Tara awwwed as usual and giggled.

"So what about you Lori, any dreams of a handsome demon?" Tara asked Lori.

Lori poked her head up.

"Yeah actually." She said, using her fingers to get her hair in order.

"I didn't know who it was until I woke up, but he kissed me too. And I was in this castle type room." she said, sitting up fully. A certain white ball of fluff sat up with her.

The girls died laughing at the bed-headed sight of Sesshomaru, who's fur was sticking up everywhich way.

Inuyasha and Koga wagged their tails and sniffed, tongues hanging out in definite doggy laughter.

Sesshomaru sniffed disdainfully at them and stood up to shake himself, his white fur falling gently back into place.

"Awww I wanted a picture!" Tara cried.

"I know! Maybe sometime we'll catch the bed-head off gaurd and jump him!" Becca said, a crazy look coming into her eyes.

Tara laughed. 

"Okay, sure thing Ms. Insanity." she giggled.

Lori stood up and moved to the couch, sitting close to where Tara sat brushing Inuyasha.

"Guys do you think we were meant to find them? Or they meant to find us?" Lori asked.

"Definitely." Tara said instantly.

The girls looked at her curiously. Noticing this, she paused and explained.

"Well think about it. We just _happen _to walk up to three fighting animals, one of which is a _wolf_, and they all amazingly decide like us and make peace. Now they follow us around like best friends. This was totally no coincidence." She finished and continued brushing Inuyasha.

Becca nodded.

"I can see that. I think it's kinda funny that we all dreamed about them. Or, the real versions anyway." she said.

"Yeah, it is actually pretty weird." Lori said, glancing at Sesshomaru who was sitting beside her knees.

A weird silence fell on the normally rather loud group, and they all three nearly jumped out of their skins when a cell phone rang.

"Mine!" Tara said, picking up her phone and answering it.

"Hello? Oh Hi mom. Yeah we stayed at our house. Yes mom, we're fine. We have food. Yep. Yeah we locked the doors. Okay. Yeah, okay. Alriiiight mom I'll be there, I promise. Okay. Love you too. Bye" She hung up her phone and turned to the girls.

"She wanted to know if we were safe, if we had food, locked the doors last night, and if I can be home in time to babysit my brothers." she said.

"Awww, what time do you have to be there?" Lori asked, feeling sad that they had to end their fun.

"Oh, not till later, like six."

"Phew, that's good." Becca said.

"Hey, lets let the guys out and let them run around a little bit and while they're doing that, we'll dance around like crazy people!" Tara proposed.

"Sounds good to me." Becca said, sharing a look with Lori.

As if taking their cue, the three dogs bolted for the door and probably would have gone straight through it if Lori hadn't opened it.

"In a hurry much?" she yelled after them.

The girls laughed and got out their dance stuff and more cd's.

For probably the next thirty minutes they simply danced around, every once in a while checking on the dogs who were running around chasing each other below.

"You've got me...right where you want me!" The girls sang at each other, and suddenly they heard what was unmistakably a gunshot.

"Inuyasha!" "Koga!" "Sesshomaru!" The three girls screamed, terror lacing their voices as they bolted out the door, flying down the stairs.

Tara was the first to burst through the vines, and she screamed again.

There in the center of the Glade, was Inuyasha. Blood visibly splattered over the once unmarred tree and flowers. Koga and Sesshomaru stood in front of the unmoving dog, directly in front of the Bently Brothers.

"No." Tara whispered in horror.

"Inuyasha!" she cried and ran to him, Lori and Becca running to Sesshomaru and Koga.

Tears were running down Tara cheeks as she touched Inuyasha's soft head. His eyes were closed and there was no sign of breathing.

"Please...please...please..." she whispered over and over again, searching desperately for a pulse.

Becca and Lori held on tight to their dogs, and even Leon Bently, who held the gun, seemed frozen.Tara stared up at Leon, tears still streaming down her face.

"You monster!" she screamed at him, her hands fisting in Inuyasha's fur. "You MONSTER!" her voice cracked and she buried her face in Inuyasha's fur.

"The mutt attacked me! I was within rights to shoot it!" Leon defended himself, but they could tell his palms were sweaty.

"Attacked you my butt!" Becca screamed at him.

"Why are you in _our glade _and with a gun no less?" Lori asked him, anger burning like flames in her eyes.

Leon faltered. Apparently, actually killing the dogs had not been his intention.

"Get out of here!" Becca and Lori screamed at him in unison. Koga and Sesshomaru snarled more fiercely and terrible than they'd ever seen before, gradually moving the Brothers back.

Leon stumbled and with one last glance at the weeping girl and angry pair of teens glaring daggers into him, he turned and fled.

Becca and Lori turned to Tara who was desperately searching for any sign of life.

"God please no...please don't take him from me when I just found him!" She cried.

"Tara..." Lori started.

"No!" Tara cried.

"Tara ...come on love." She tried again, gently pulling her away from the unmoving dog, embracing her.

Tara broke down and wept into Lori's arms, and Lori pulled Becca into the hug. The Glade was full of the sound of weeping.

Koga sniffed around Inuyasha and quickly grabbed Becca's sleeve, jerking insistantly on her.

"Koga what?" she asked, looking at the wolf curiously.

Koga looked at Inuyasha.

Tara, Lori, and Becca also looked.

A wing picked up, surrounding them. The trees rustled and they felt a soft, flittering touch that floated around to surround where Inuyasha lay.

Tara's eyes were wide, breath caught in her throat.

Inuyasha's body shuddered as he drew breath and moved his head up to look at Tara.

She let out a choked sob and rushed over to him, gently holding his head and crying.

"Thank goodness." Lori said and hugged the white dog standing beside her, his tail wagging.

After several minutes of simply holding Inuyasha and crying, Tara looked up.

"Why did I feel like that guys? Wh-Why did I feel so dead inside when I thought he was gone?" she asked, her eyes red from tears.

Becca shook her head.

"I think we'd all feel exactly the same way had it been our dogs."

"I agree. I'm just glad everyone is okay." Lori said, clutching Sesshomaru close.

Tara nodded. She looked back down to Inuyasha.

She had looked everywhere for a wound, but there was none to be seen. It was if he had not been hit at all, but she had proof that he had, blood soaked his fur and the ground around him.

"Yuck boy...you need a bath." she said, her voice still thick with her tears, and she giggled as Inuyasha licked away the tear tracks. She grasped his face.

"Stop being so reckless. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you." she felt the need to say it. Inuyasha simply put his nose against her cheek, rubbing his head against hers.

"I know how we would all feel if we lost our dogs." Lori said softly.

_"I'd die." _they all whispered to the stillness.

They sighed, clinging to the soothing touch of the Glade that was consuming them. It was as if the Glade was the air, and they were brining it into them by simply breathing.

They heard the whisper of the leaves, the sway of the branches, and all of them took the moment to soak in the peace of this magical place.

"We'd better get back." Lori said softly.

"Yeah." Tara answered. "I want to get him home before the boys get back from soccer." She said, just as softly.

"Tara, you and Inuyasha can go on ahead, we'll bring your stuff over later. It'll give us an excuse to check up on Inuyasha." Becca said, smiling.

Lori nodded in agreement.

"We probably wont be long in going home either. This is all way too much excitement for one day." she said with an exhausted sigh.

"Definitely." Becca said.

Tara stood up, and helped Inuyasha stand. Once on his feet, he seemed to have his balance and his strength, and walked a few feet ahead before stoping, as if waiting for her.

Tara turned, gave the girls tight hugs, and whispered, "Thank you so much guys. I'll see ya later." Smiling, she turned and walked with Inuyasha out of the Glade, taking the swiftest way to her home.

They noticed her hand never left Inuyasha's back.

Becca sighed.

"What are we going to do about Leon, Lori? He can't be allowed to get away with this." She said, looking at her friend.

Koga and Sesshomaru sniffed as one, as if in agreement.

"See, the dogs agree." Becca giggled.

"I know. We could take it to the police, but I doubt they'd do much. Probably just take the guys to the pound." Lori said sadly.

"I hadn't thought about that, but you're right." Becca said, her shoulders slumping.

Lori felt a nudge at her shoulder and turned to see Sesshomaru staring up at her with calm eyes. She felt the Glade's magic wash over her again, as well as the comfort of having Sesshomaru near. She fell down and hugged him tight, and to her surprise, Sesshomaru licked her cheek.

Becca awwwed since Tara wasn't here to do it, and had to hugged Koga, it was just that touching!

Lori stood up straight, beaming brightly at Becca.

"Let's go get our stuff and lock up." She said to Becca, and locked arms with her.

"Yep! Then let's go check on Inuyasha and Tara. I think I'm more worried about her than him. He seemed fine." Becca said, looking after the still fading forms of Tara and Inuyasha.

"Well then, let's go!" Lori said, and pushing Becca over, raced off.

Becca screamed at her from the ground, "You cheater! You're worse than Tara!" she got up quickly and took off after her.

"I learned from the best then!" Lori answered, and with Sesshomaru running beside her, ran through the vine door and up the stairs, Becca following closely with Koga.

Surprisingly, they touched the door at the same time, panting.

"Tie!" they yelled.

They laughed and walked in, gathering their stuff up and straightening things up.

"Got everything?" Becca asked, looking around.

"Yep!" Lori answered.

"Alrighty then." Becca said, and moved out the door.

Lori locked the door behind them, and the four of them started the way down the stairs and out of the Glade to go find their friends.

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**A.N.: _Well there it is! Thanks again to all the people who reviewed, you guys keep me writing! stuffs you all with more marshmallows mwahahahaha! Nah I'm just kidding, I'm not that demented. Please review!!_**


	4. Betrayel

**A.N.:_Yay! Next chapter! Woot woot! Once again, thank you to those who reviewed! You all make me so happy! throws everyone flowers Enjoy the chappie!!_**

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Betrayel

The next five days past very quickly for the girls and the dogs. Inuyasha was his usual self in no time, and he and Koga were soon back to picking on each other.

At school, Leon avoided them like the plague, and the girls felt that it was a blessing. As mad as all three of the girls were, and especially Tara, theres no telling if he would have survived and encounter with them.

All three of the girls decided it would be best if the dogs stayed in the Glade at night. With summer break only two days away, they all knew that their parents would find a way to make them have "Family TIme".

Which, of course, would mean them being home a lot more. So, with it being way too risky, it was just better for them to stay safe when summer started.

The last bell rang and the kids burst out of the school doors like a tidal wave. If you'd like a mental image, just think of STAMPEEEEDE!!!!!

That would pretty much cover it.

The girls walked out a _safer _exit and they started towards the Glade. Nowadays, they never went a single day without going there.

"Ah! Freedom is only two days away!" Tara said, pumping her fist in the air, nearly hitting Becca.

"Trying to kill me now?" Becca asked with a smirk.

Tara snapped her fingers.

"Darn. Lori, we're guna have to think of a new plan now. She caught us." She said, looking dissappointedly at Lori.

Lori sighed. "There you go again, just blowing our cover! What am I going to do with you?"

They all laughed together and veered off into the trees.

Thankfully, it was the weekend again, so they were allowed to stay at their house with the dogs. School only went to tuesday the next week, then summer break began.

"So what should we do tonight?" Lori asked curiously, pushing a low hanging branch out of her way.

"I dunno. Maybe we could just watch a movie." Tara suggested, shaking off a spider that had decided to say hello.

"Sounds good to me. I just wanna see Koga." Becca said.

"Speaking of which..." Lori trailed off.

A loud rustle was heard a few yards in front of them, and suddenly they all three found themselves attacked by three massive dogs, all of whom seemed to feel the need to bathe their faces.

"Ewwwww Inuyasha get off me!" Tara said with a bright smile. She reached her arms up and grabbed Inuyasha's neck, wrestling him down.

Koga had decided to snatch off Becca's shoe and was running around with it, while she chased him and yelled some pretty scary things at him. I wont traumatize your mind by telling you what she said.

While Becca and Tara fought with their dogs, Sesshomaru sat back and allowed Lori to sit up. He was instantly enveloped in a hug from Lori, and gave her another lick on the cheek.

"I missed you boy." Lori told him. Sesshomaru snuffed at her, which she took to mean he missed her too.

They both looked up at the amusing sight of Tara and Becca running after Inuyasha and Koga, both of whom had something of the girls in their mouths and were determined not to let them have it.

Tara nudged Becca as they ran in a circle, and they suddenly stopped, turned around and grabbed the dogs as they ran right into them. They were both instantly pinned to the ground by the running force of giant furrballs.

"I think I broke something." Becca said monotonely.

"You always say that." Tara replied.

"Nu uh, I do not!"

"Do to."

"Do not!"

"Do _to."_

"I do _not!"_

"Alright, shut up both of you!" Lori yelled at them with a large grin on her face.

"If you two ever decide to be mature, you can come with me and Sesshomaru to the house." and with that, she turned and walked towards the vine door.

Tara looked at Becca.

"What say you we marker her face tonight while she sleeps?" Tara proposed, looking innocent.

"I say that's a brilliant idea. Wouldn't hurt to marker Fluffy as well." Becca said, a mischievious grin touching her face.

Tara burst into laughter and stood up. Helping Becca to her feet, they followed after Lori and the white dog to the center of the Glade.

They walked through the vines and started up the stairs as a trio. They paused and turned back to the dogs.

"You guys stay here for a minute. We'll be right back. Don't go anywhere!" Tara said, looking pointedly at Inuyasha.

The three dogs wagged their tales and laid down, crossing their paws and lying their heads comfortably on them.

The girls continued up the stairs and opened the doors.

The three of them threw their bags in and turned around to go back on the porch to call the guys.

Tara and Becca heard Lori scream and they turned around in concern.

"What?"

"What's wrong Lori?"

Lori just stood there, gaping, pointing down at the three dogs.

"They...they...there were humans laying there!" Lori cried, staring at the dogs.

Tara and Becca looked down again.

No humans in sight.

Becca touched Lori's forehead.

"Are you sick? Did you eat candy? Drink coffee? Smoke something?" she asked real fast.

Lori batted her hand away.

"No guys I'm serious! There were three guys laying there! I swear!"

Becca and Tara shared a glance and shrugged.

"Well, let's go check and see if anyones there and then we can go watch our movie." Tara said, and started her way down.

They looked all around the Glade, but saw no sign of anyone.

"Guys I promise I saw them!" Lori said, starting to feel more than slightly stupid.

"We believe you Lori. I'm just wondering though if you're eyes weren't playing tricks on you." Becca said.

"Yeah...Maybe." Lori said, although the thought still nagged at her.

Tara looked at Inuyasha to see him staring intently at her, his golden eyes shining in the fading light.

"What?" she asked him.

For some reason, he didn't answer. Might have something to do with him being a dog.

"Well, lets go up. Come on boy!" Tara said, and motioned at Inuyasha who jumped up and followed her up the stairs.

Becca and Lori also followed, and Lori kept her hand on Sesshomaru, who seemed to be walking a little closer than usual to her.

They walked in and Becca pushed the movie in to the tv.

Getting comfortable on the couch, the three girls sat beside each other while the dogs laid in front of them on the rug.

They noticed through the movie that the guys kept snipping at each other and growling.

At one point, Koga and Inuyasha started snarling, which scared Tara and Becca.

"Inuyasha stop it!" She said sharply.

"Koga! Cut it out!" Becca said firmly to the wolf.

The dogs looked at them grouchily, but seemed to get over it quick enough, because they walked stiff-legged over to their owners who were sitting on opposite sides of Lori.

They then jumped up onto the couch, and placed themselves _over _the girls, glaring daggers at each other.

Sesshomaru, they noticed, seemed to roll his eyes and snuff at them. Obviously he thought they were acting imature. Which they were.

To the slight annoyance of the girls, Koga and Inuyasha didn't stop growling at each other through the _entire movie. _

Eventually, Tara got tired of it and wacked Inuyasha gently on the head.

"Inuyasha! Geez, are you guys in heat or something?" She asked him grouchily.

"Yeah seriously. You guys are acting stupid." Becca added, glaring at Koga.

Lori snorted.

"I guess I'm the only one blessed in having a mature dog." she said with a grin. Sesshomaru lifted his head and seemed to grin.

"I'm starting to think so." Tara said with a frown. Inuyasha growled softly at her.

Another couple of hours past and Koga and Inuyasha were _still _growling and snarling and often snipping at each other.

Becca took Koga's head in her hands and held his face in front of hers.

"Stop...it." she said slowly, and firmly.

Tara's face suddenly bloomed with an evil grin and she glanced at Inuyasha who's ears flattened.

"Inuyasha. If you don't cut it out, I'm taking you to the vet tomorrow to get you neutered." she said cheerfully.

"Same goes for you Koga." Becca said, sitting back.

Strangely, the two animals made no more noise. Funny huh?

The movie ended, and by the time it had, all three girls were pooped. With dealing with the two dogs and crying at the mushy end of the movie, they were more than ready for sleep.

They jumped onto the bed, which was a little bit bigger than a queen size, fixed the sheets and blankets, and crawled in.

Koga, Inuyasha, and Sesshomaru quickly made themselves comfy next to, or in Koga's case, on top of, the girls, and they all soon fell asleep.

It was probably around 3:30 am when Tara woke up with the urgent need to get a drink.

Being on the far left side of the bed, she slipped out from under the blankets and walked silently to the minifridge to get a water bottle.

She quenched her thirst with a sigh of relief and turned back to go to bed.

There, sitting on her bed, was a man. He had long black hair, and his golden eyes pierced the darkness as he stared at her. He flashed her a grin.

She realized this was the man from her dream!

Tara blinked her eyes, and suddenly the man was no longer there, but instead was Inuyasha.

Tara gaped.

"Inuyasha?" she asked, feeling like she was going insane.

Inuyasha tilted his head curiously at her.

Tara held a hand to her face.

She shook her head and crawled back into the bed, pulling the blankets close to her.

'What is going on?' she asked silently.

She felt Inuyasha wriggle his way under her arm. She smiled and ran her hand over the soft fur of his head.

"I think we're losing it boy. Me and Lori both." she said quietly, before closing her eyes and falling into troubled sleep.

The three girls awoke together the next morning, feeling like something was different.

They sat up, realizing the three dogs were missing.

Lori and Becca also realized, with what happened last week, Tara was soon to go into panic.

Which she did.

She sprang out of bed and scrambled to pull her shoes on.

"We-we've gota go find them!" she said frantically.

Lori and Becca walked up to her and calmly took her hands.

"Tara. They've done this before remember?"

"Yeah. When they left for one night and we all freaked out only to find them the next morning?"

Tara nodded slowly.

"Perhaps that's all they've done this time. Went wherever they went last timel." Lori said soothingly.

"Yeah..." Tara said, slowly calming down.

"They'll be back soon." Becca added.

Truthfully, they both were just as worried, but they're own words were making sense to them, and Tara would end up hurting herself trying to look for Inuyasha.

"Okay." Tara said, and slipped her shoes off.

She looked up at them, worry still shining in her eyes, but not as prominent as it had been.

"What should we do till they come back?" she asked weakly.

"We could watch that new movie." Becca suggested.

Tara smiled.

"What do you think Lori?" 

"Sounds good to me!" Lori said with a smile.

They all got back into the bed once the movie was in, and they all decided that it had been a good idea. The movie made them laugh, which they desperately needed.

After it ended, they decided to straighten the house up a little bit.

Just as the three girls were straightening up the bed, they heard a rumbling, and the dogs burst into the room.

The girls squealed and hugged the dogs, but the dogs didn't seem interested in that.

As soon as the girls let them go, they all three headed to the door, pressing it closed, and to the girls extreme shock, locking it with their teeth.

They looked at each other in amazement.

"What are they-" Tara began before her cell phone ring cut her off.

She put the phone on speaker and answered.

"Hello?"

"Tara, it's Dad."

"Hi Daddy, what's up?"

"Where are you?"

Tara shared a nervous glance with the girls.

"We're at our house like we told you."

"In that treehouse?"

"Yes."

"Get out here now."

"Out where?" Tara asked, getting anxious.

"Outside! We can't find the treehouse."

"You're _here?_" she cried.

"Yes, and so are Becca and Lori's parents. Now get down here now!"

With that, the line went dead, and Tara shakily put the phone down.

"What should we do?" Becca asked, pulling Koga close to her. He licked her face anxiously.

Tara's eyes were wide with fear. She had a haunch of what her dad wanted.

"I don't know." She said weakly.

She watched Sesshomaru walk to Lori and push his head against her, instantly surrounded by Lori's arms.

Tara felt a tug at her sleeve and saw Inuyasha staring at her, his golden eyes calm.

"Oh Inuyasha." she said and pulled him close to her as well.

For a good five minutes the six of them simply sat there.

But then their time ran up, and they knew they had to go out.

Wiping tears from her cheeks, Tara stood and made her way to the door.

Her hand touched Inuyasha's neck, and he leaned closer to her so that she could grasp it.

She felt, more than saw, the girls do likewise, then she opened the door and stepped out.

They made their way down the staircase like it was a funeral, as if they were prisoners.

Their magical Glade, didn't feel quite as magical today.

The trees drooped, the birds didn't sing, the wind around them seemed non-existant.

The strange group of friends stopped at the vine door.

Taking a deep breath, Tara pulled them away and stepped through.

The girls joined her, and they stood together, facing their parents.

All of their parents gasped at the huge dogs standing by their sides.

"You have had those monsters with you?" Lori's mother cried.

Tara stepped forward angrily.

"They aren't monsters! They're our friends and...and we love them." Tara said, her hand tightening on Inuyasha's fur.

"Yeah! They're ours!" Becca said.

"Exactly. Why did you call us here?" Lori asked.

Their dads moved closer, causing the girls to back away slightly.

"Girls. We told you to stay away from here. Now come on, give us the dogs."

Tara's eyes widened in horror.

Suddenly she knew exactly what they were going to do.

"No." she whispered. "No!"

Becca and Lori looked at her face, and realized what their parents wanted.

"No! You won't take them!" They cried, all three of them backing away even more.

Their dads sighed and they moved forward, firmly taking their daughters arms.

"Take them now!" One dad called, and immidiatelly several men armed with metal leashes and electrifying rods poured into the Glade.

They had come to take the dogs away from them.

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**A.N.: _mwaahahaha a cliffy. You know, those are really fun to write. Review if ya wanna know what happens!! cackles evilly _**


	5. Whispers of the Glade

**A.N.: _Yay! Another chapter!! Thank you to all who reviewed! I heart you hehehe! Oh, and everyone should thank the quickness of these updates to my friends Corbin4eva (Becca) and Love of a Lord (Lori) who threatened me with horrifying torture if I didn't update. They really are very scary sometimes. Anyway, enjoy!!_**

PS: I have not grammer checked this chapter since I'm kind of rushing at the moment, so more than likely I will go back in a few days and recheck this chappie. If I do, I'll let you know. Bye!

Whispers  
  
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**Previously:**

_"No! You won't take them!" They cried, all three of them backing away even more._

Their dads sighed and they moved forward, firmly taking their daughters arms.

"Take them now!" One dad called, and immidiatelly several men armed with metal leashes and electrifying rods poured into the Glade.

They had come to take the dogs away from them.

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The girls began screamed and began fighting against the arms that held them.

"NO! You can't do this!!" Lori screamed, angrily kicking every which way to escape.

"Dad no! Please don't!" Becca cried, struggling fiercely to pull away.

Tara was hysterical, screaming like a wild animal and her father ended up needing another two men to help hold her still.

She never spoke, but the pain and pure betrayel she felt rang in every scream that left her lips.

They could see the dogs fighting against the dog catchers, struggling as much as the girls were to get to them.

Sesshomaru tried to bite one man, but the man stuck the electric rod to his skin, zapping him.

Lori screamed and fought harder.

Koga too, tried to bite the two men attacking him, but a wire leash quickly went around his neck, and he struggled to pull away.

Becca struggled even more against her captor.

Tara no longer struggled, she just stared at Inuyasha, her eyes haunted as she watched them take him away.

The men pulled the three dogs out of the Glade, and when they were told that the dogs had been placed in a vehicle and were being taken to a safe facility, the girls fathers, as well as the two extra men holding Tara, let them go.

Lori and Becca jerked away, glaring hatefully at their fathers.

"How could you?" Becca whispered, anger and hurt shaking her to the core.

Her father looked at her sadly.

"I did, we all did, what we decided was best." he said.

"How do you know what is right for us?" Lori screamed. She pointed at Tara, who had simply fallen to the ground and now sat on her knees, her head bowed and her hair hiding her face. Lori and Becca both could _see_ the pain on her that they all felt.

"Is _this _what's best for us? IS IT?" She screamed again. She was shaking in fury.

"How is this better for us dad?" Becca asked, hurt echoeing in her words.

They knew their mothers stood only a few feet away, but none of them said a word.

"It...It just is." their dads said together.

Tara's mother moved forward to embrace her, but to Lori and Becca's shock, as well as everyone elses, she jerked away.

Standing up, she backed further away from them, pure fire burning in her eyes.

"Don't touch me." she whispered horribly. "Don't you ever touch me."

Lori and Becca moved together to stand beside her.

They put their arms around each other, but Tara's eyes never left her parents.

When they pulled away, everyone heard her say quietly, "You have all destroyed the Glade." 

Though they didn't understand it themselves, Becca and Lori knew she was telling the truth.

The innocence, the purity of the Glade had somehow been broken. It was no longer a safe place. Shadows seeped from all around them, choking the light away from the place they once called their Haven.

"Leave me alone. I want nothing to do with you." Tara said into the stillness, and she turned around and went back through the vine door.

Lori and Becca didn't go with her for the moment, and they all soon heard her sobs.

They looked accusingly at their parents.

"We aren't children any more. We can make our own decisions." Lori said, looking to where the tree branches had been broken from the men struggling with the dogs.

Tears coming to her eyes, she and Becca turned and followed Tara.

They saw her standing next to the staircase, her hand lying limp on the knob.

"What can we do?" Her voice was soft, full of pain.

"We wait. They'll come to us." Becca said, as though trying to convince herself. "They will."

Tara gave a choked sob and fell again to the ground. The girls were instantly by her side, all three of them clinging to one another.

For the first time in their lives, _they _were all they had.

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The dogs catchers had never in their lives had more trouble with animals like these three.

"Just knock 'em out!" One cried, fighting with the furiously struggling Sesshomaru.

"We can't. They aren't directly attacking us, so they said we can't hurt them." One said from the three fighting to get Sesshomaru in the car.

"Heh. Look at this one. He's not even fighting." One man said mockingly.

And it was true, Inuyasha was not fighting. He was simply walking slowly, none of his usual life present in his slumped form.

"Maybe he's just accepted whats guna happen to him." The man holding Sesshomaru said.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped up, golden and bright, and he barked sharply at Sesshomaru and Koga, who stopped fighting the men.

Inuyasha's holder looked in shock.

"He told them to shut up! Can you believe that?"

The other men started laughing and began pulling the dogs to the cars again, but they didn't budge.

Three horribly angry snarls ripped suddenly from the dogs throats, and before the men could even think of doing anything, they were thrown against the surrounding trees and knocked unconcious.

Three figures stood, looking at the unconcious dog catchers.

"Let's go." the black haired man said, and he, a man with long brown hair, and a silver haired man slipped back into the forest.

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In the center of their Glade, the girls remained as close to each other as they could be.

It felt as if the Glade itself was weeping with them, feeling their pain.

A soft breeze brushed around them, trying to soothe their hurt.

Becca and Lori's tears had stopped. They felt too empty to keep crying.

They sat together, Becca's head lying on Lori's shoulder, and Lori lying on her head. Their hands were clasped, and Lori's right hand was holding Tara's.

Tara sat just as she had before, and tears trickled down her cheeks every now and then.

They had no words of comfort for one another, no plans, no ideas, no ways to make each other laugh.

Somehow, their hearts didn't have the strength for it.

"What can we do? We can't possibly go home." Becca whispered, fear finally propelling her to speak.

"We are home." Tara whispered brokenly. "The Glade never betrayed us, it never hurt us. This is my home."

Becca nodded and sniffed. She looked up at Lori, who normally bright eyes were glazed in sadness.

"Lori? What do you think?" she asked.

"I think Tara's right. The Glade accepted us and the dogs, it even healed Inuyasha. It really is our home."

They were all silent for a while, until Tara broke the silence.

"Do you think...the Glade is magic? I mean really magic?" she asked, lifting her tear stained face.

Becca and Lori looked at each other.

"I think it really is. Everything about this place seemed magical." Lori said thoughtfully.

"Maybe it's the magic of our friendship." Becca suggested.

Tara nodded absently.

"If only it could have saved the dogs." she said sadly, another tear falling silently.

Lori and Becca reached out and pulled her into a hug, all of them trying to find the normal peace of the Glade.

As they sat there together, the soft breeze brushing by them every once in a while, suddenly picked up, pulling their attention to the vines.

They held their breath, afraid that the Glade was warning them.

"Is it Leon?" Becca asked fearfully.

"Or worse, our parents?" Lori asked worriedly.

Tara shook her head, feeling something different in the air. It wasn't a warning...it was...

"Guys...the Glade is...happy..." she whispered.

The Glade was suddenly alive! The trees rustled as if in a storm, it's branches beating against each others, causing it's leaves to sing.

The girls pulled apart somewhat, eyes wide.

Suddenly, out of the vine entrance, three shadowed figures plunged through, causing the girls to scream, instantly thinking it was the Bently Brothers.

Tara struggled weakly against the two hands that took her arms gently, her eyes tightly shut.

"Tara! Tara look at me!" An unfamiliar voice said to her.

She stopped struggling. Opening her eyes slowly, she gasped.

There before her, was the golden eyes from her dream. The man's long black hair blew with the Glade's wind. He flashed her a bright smile.

Tara's eyes were wide.

"I know you." She whispered in wonder. The man smiled brighter.

"Of course you do. Just like they know them." He directed her attention to her friends who were actually _hugging _the two men in front of them!

One, she noticed, had very long, very pretty silver hair. Lori was excited to say the least.

Becca was in the arms of a brown haired man, and her eyes were as wide with shock as Tara's.

Tara looked back at the black haire man.

"I dreamed about you. But why are you here?" she asked.

The man's smile softened fondly.

"We came to tell you girls that everything will turn out okay." The three said in unison. Tara saw Becca raise an eyebrow. Lori was grinning like a lunatic.

Inuyasha pressed his head against Tara's, and for some reason, this comforted her.

"I promise." He whispered, before pressing his lips to hers softly. For a reason Tara couldn't explain, it felt so completely right, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Pulling away sadly, the man kissed her head.

"We'll be back soon." They heard the silver haired man say. He had his arms wrapped loosely around Lori's waist, who looked like she was in heaven.

"Yeah! Don't worry about a thing doll." The brown haired man said, giving Becca another kiss. She was blushing furiously which made Tara and Lori laugh.

"Just stay safe." The man holding Tara said. He gave her one last kiss before the three of them pulled away and left swiftly through the door.

Tara, Becca, and Lori stood there for a minute, minds completely blank.

"Three guys just walked in here and kissed us. Multiple times. And strangely, I'm alright with that." Becca said in wonder.

"Yeah...weird huh?" Lori said dreamily. 

Tara turned and looked at the girls.

A grin was slowly blossoming on her face.

"Guys...If those are the three guys from our dreams...And we know for a fact that we've been dreaming about the Feudal Era guys..." She trailed off with a wide grin.

"Then we were just kissed by our dream guy!!" They squealed together, laughing at the double meaning of "dream guy."

They fell giggling to the ground, life suddenly flowing again, in their hearts and in the Glade.

Suddenly the Glade wasn't quite as dark, and everything seemed a whole lot better.

"Well, now that we've been randomly kissed by the men of our dreams, literally, and we've decided where we're going to stay...What now?" Lori asked.

"We should go get famous!" Becca cried, throwing her hands up.

They all laughed, their happiness filling the air.

Tara suddenly held her hand up, cutting off their laughter.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

"Hear what?" Lori asked.

"Listen!" Tara said.

Off in the distance, they heard the sound of barking. And not just _any _barking.

"No!" Becca said.

"Yes!" Tara screamed.

The three dogs ran through the vine door at the speed of light, running immidiatelly to the girls who were in tears, hugging and kissing them.

"Oh Sesshomaru! Nothing could ever be more perfect!" Lori said before she buried her face in his silver fur.

"Koga thinks so too." Becca said sarcastically, and Tara and Lori looked to see her pinned to the ground by a very happy Koga. Presently he was bathing her face with a wet tongue.

Tara laughed, her voice filled with tears of happiness.

She hugged Inuyasha close.

"What would I do without you?" she asked him softly. He licked her cheek softly and she gave another weak laugh.

"This calls for soda and dancing!" She cried as she stood up.

The girls gave a cheer, and they all ran up the staircase, the dogs leading the way excitedly.

Reaching the door, Tara quickly unlocked it and let them all in.

The dogs rushed in, acting like it'd been years since they'd been there.

The three dogs jumped up on the bed and stared at the girls with tails wagging wildly.

Inuyasha stared straight at Tara, his golden eyes seeming to glow.

Tara narrowed her eyes with a smile. A thought had occured to her. And there was one way to test it.

She took his head in her hands and pulled him to touch his forehead to hers.

"I know you." she whispered, only for him to hear. She saw his golden eyes widen and that was all she needed. A wide grin bursting on her face, she hugged Inuyasha close.

"What are you smiling about?" Lori asked her curiously.

"Yeah you look like you're up to something." Becca said with a grin.

Tara looked at them innocently.

"Would _I _be up to something?" she asked.

"Yes." Lori and Becca said together.

They all laughed and shared a hug.

"Hey let's get some tunes going! I wanna dance!" Becca cried.

"Well you're closest to the stereo!" Lori said, she and Tara backing away.

"Cheaters!" Becca yelled playfully, but slipped a few CD's into the player.

To Tara's delight, Can't Fight The Moonlight was the first one to come on.

The three of them danced around, frequently grabbing the dogs and dancing around them or sometime with them.

Breathless, Tara grabbed them some Mountain Dews and their stash of Pixie Stix.

Their favorite quote ever was, "Forget cocaine, snuff pixie stix."

Trust me, for these girls, pixie stix was all it took.

After several hours of just goofing off, reality came back into play.

Their energy kicks had run and they were now lying on their bed, their dogs held close.

They were happy, but there were a few things that needed attention.

"Guys...being realistic here. We can't stay here." Becca said.

"I know." Tara said, her hand tightening slightly in Inuyasha's fur.

"We have to go back." Lori said sadly.

"But what about the dogs?" Tara asked. "There's no way on earth I'm letting them take Inuyasha again." she said.

"Same here." the girls said together.

"I don't know. Maybe we could just stick with our previous plan and let them stay here." Becca suggested.

"Well yeah, we could, but how are we going to visit them without our parents blowing up on us?" Lori asked.

"Maybe we could come out here at night. I mean, after all it'll be summer so it's not like we'll need the sleep for school." Tara said.

"Yeah! I like that idea!" Becca said.

Lori sat up.

"You know, since we're still mad at our parents, what if we slept during the day and came out here at night?" she said.

Tara pursed her lips.

"We could do that. It would give us more time with the guys and less with our parents, but when are we going to eat?" she asked.

"Whatever's in the fridge?" Becca said.

"I suppose, but that'd get kinda old after a while." Tara said.

The three of them went silent, each thinking desperately of how they could do this.

"Guys what if we got jobs? Not big jobs, just little ones like babysitting and walking dogs, cleaning houses?" Becca said.

Lori grinned.

"We could totally do that! I mean it wouldn't bring in tons of money, but it would bring some! And when we aren't working, our parents will think we are so we could spend that time with the guys!" she said.

Tara beamed.

"I think we have a plan!" She said, and the girls slapped high fives.

True, it wasn't a solid future outline and was nowhere near to solving their problems, but it comforted them to know that none of them would go hungry, including the dogs they loved so much.

The group fell asleep early, completely exhausted, but all happy.

Each of the girls had very pleasent dreams in which the three men that had kissed them held them again in their arms, promising never to let go.

But of course, nothing wonderful can last forever.

Sunlight pierced Tara's eyes as sleep left her. She saw it was clearly daylight and the Glade seemed to find it amusing to wake them up.

She groaned and pulled the covers over her head, and under the darkness, discovered two golden eyes staring at her.

"Good morning Inuyasha." she said with a grin, awake now.

Inuyasha licked her nose.

"Ewwww gross." she said, wiping her nose and pulling the covers off. She sat up and grinned at Inuyasha.

"That was totally uncalled for." she said.

"Tara, no offense, but would you please stop talking to your dog?" Becca's voice grumbled from beneath the blanket. Tara saw a brown tail wagging from beneath the blankets.

Tara laughed happily and got up, throwing the blankets off her.

"Come on boy, let's go where we're welcome." she said with a laugh.

The two of them stepped out onto the porch, and she saw that she wasn't the only one to have risen early.

Lori and Sesshomaru were down in the middle of the Glade, just sitting together.

Tara paused at the base of the staircase.

"May we join you?" she asked with a smile.

Lori smiled back and nodded. "Of course."

Inuyasha took that as his cue and jumped off the stairs, running towards Sesshomaru who instantly took flight.

So, while Tara sat down beside Lori and had an intelligent conversation, Inuyasha chased Sesshomaru around in circles.

Giggling at their antics, Tara gave Lori a morning hug.

"How'd you sleep doll?" she asked.

"Fine." said Lori. "Dreamed about Sesshomaru." she said with a smile.

Tara beamed. She wondered when they would realize what she had.

"Oh? What did you dream?" she asked curiously.

"I dreamed that Sesshomaru was holding me and telling me that he'd always been with me." she giggled. "It kind of sounded like he was dead but I know he wasn't." she said.

Tara grinned wider.

"Well that's pretty cool. Maybe the magic of the Glade has something to do with them." she said seriously.

"Yeah maybe." Lori said softly, giggling as Sesshomaru turned sharply on Inuyasha and started chasing him the other way.

Tara jumped as her cell phone rang. She didn't recognize the number, but she answered it anyway.

"Hello?" she asked, holding the phone a few inches away. It was already on speaker from last night, and she'd rather have Lori hear then retell everything.

_"Hello Tara."_ Leon's voice came from the mouth piece.

The girls stared.

"What do you want?" Tara asked coldly. She noticed Inuyasha stopped running and had come over to her, Sesshomaru joining Lori.

_"Oh, the same thing I've wanted for a long time. You." _

Tara and Lori shared a fearful glance.

"Sorry, I'm taken." Tara said truthfully, a dreamy smile coming to her face. Inuyasha licked her hand and leaned against, but never took his gaze off the phone.

Leon's angry voice came from the other line.

_"Well that's too bad isn't it? I heard what happened to those stinking mutts of yours, and since they're gone, I'll have nothing to stop me from taking what I want!" _

Tara's eyes went wide and she reached shakily for Inuyasha who pressed his body into her hand. She gripped his back fur tightly.

Lori and Tara jumped as the phone was suddenly snatched out of Tara's hand by Becca, who was shaking in fury.

"Go ahead and try it, you disgusting excuse for a man! There's no way we're going to let slime like you take her!"

They heard Leon snicker.

_"I'll accept that as a challenge then. See you soon Tara." _he said disgustingly, and the line went dead.

Becca and Lori looked to Tara.

"What do you want to do?" they asked as one.

"I don't know." Tara said softly. "But Inuyasha, Koga, and Sesshomaru promised everything would be okay. So...we just have to trust them" she said as trembles began to come.

Unnoticed to them, Inuyasha glanced at Koga who was standing near Becca, and Sesshomaru who stood up and walked to them. 

The Glade understood what they could not say, and it whispered gently to the girls for them.

_"We will protect you."_

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**A.N.: _Oh my goodness, what is going to happen??? Mwahaha I know!! grins wickedly Review please!! Everyone who reviews gets a giant gummy bear!!!! hehehe_**


	6. The Glade's Fury

**A,N.: _Woohoo! Thanks once again for the people who reviewed, you guys keep this story alive! Now enjoy Chapter six!!_**  


The Glade's Fury

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Leon Bently and the Bently Brothers speeded down the street, stopping with a schreeching halt at the entrance of the woods.

"Eh Leon. Why are we here?" Ian asked him nervously.

"Going to get what rightfully mine." Leon muttered, slamming the door as he headed for the trunk.

Ian and Mark Bently jumped out too.

"The girl?" Mark asked.

"Yes you idiot, the girl!" Leon snapped. He was having trouble opening the back.

"You pull it up..." Ian said anxiously.

"I know! Stupid thing isn't cooperating!" 

Mark moved him aside and opened it.

"Don't make such a big deal out of things man." he said calmly.

"Just shut it will you?" Leon said as he pulled out a black case.

Opening it, he pulled out three pistols.

"Hey Leon, we are not going to shoot them!" Mark cried, stepping away from the guns.

Leon sneered.

"These aren't for the girls, their for the dogs. They're tranqulizers." he gave a little snicker. "Well sort of. It knocks them out within a few seconds, but after a while it poisons them."

Ian picked up one of the guns with a nervous grin. Mark was watching him disgustedly.

"Why do you want to kill the dogs?" Mark asked.

Leon grinned.

"That mutt attacked me and somehow survived, so this time I'm going to make sure he doesn't."

Leon tossed the third gun to Mark.

"Come on." he said and moved towards the entrance.

Hesitating a moment, Mark followed Leon. He didn't agree with this at all, and he was going to do what he could to stop it.

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Tara looked at the girls in fear.

"How could he have known we were here? And even more that the dogs were taken?" she asked them, her hands clasped around Inuyasha.

Becca shook head, keeping a tight hold on Koga.Lori's eyes widened in horror.

"What if my boyfriend told them?" she asked.

Tara eyes also widened.

"He could have. Your parents obviously would have told him about us. He must have ratted us out to Leon."

Lori's shoulders slumped, a tear slipping down her cheek.

"If that's true then this is my fault." she said guiltily.

Tara and Becca moved to her side, pulling her into a hug.

"That isn't true. This is no ones fault but Leon Bently's." Tara said firmly.

Becca smiled at them.

"Besides...we'll be safe, the promised. The _Glade _promised."

Lori smiled weakly.

Tara looked up as she felt the Glade stir.

The three dogs were on their feet, placing themselves in front of the girls.

"What is it telling us?" Lori asked.

"They're here." Tara whispered.

Suddenly a loud whistling sound rang through the air, and three flying objects shot swiftly through their wall of leaves.

The girls screamed as they watched, everything in slow motion, three darts bury themselves in Inuyasha, Koga and Sesshomaru.

The dogs jumped and began snarling viciously. They tried futily to pull out the darts with their teeth.

"NO!" The girls cried, scrambling to get to them, each other the girls also trying to pull out the darts.

Wrapping her hand around the base if the feathered needle, Tara tried to take it out, but to her horror it didn't budge.

Looking up in a panic, she saw the same fear in her friends eyes. They looked up at the sound of footsteps.

Stepping through the vine door, and smirking Leon Bently said, "Hello sweetheart!"

Tara looked up, pure hatred burning in her eyes.

"Why can't you leave us alone?!" she screamed, the Glade's wind picking up to a roar with her.

Leon sneered.

"Becaust I want what's _mine." _he said firmly. "Now come on." His grin no longer present, he took her arm.

Inuyasha snarled and ran at Leon but as he leapt, he fell weakly to the ground again.

"_Inuyasha!_" Tara cried and struggled to get away from Leon.

"Guys, go!" she tried to yell at her friends but saw that the other two Bently Brothers had Lori and Becca too!

Leon laughed and yelled, "Let's go." and the three guys started pulling the three screaming girls from the Glade.

The last glance of the Glade they had before they were jerked through the vine door was the two dogs and wolf lying unconcious on the grassy floor.

They never stopped screaming or struggling as the three guys drug them to a car.

Mark and Ian through Lori and Becca into the backseat, Mark being slightly more gentle.

Before throwing Tara in however, Leon grabbed the hair on the back of her head and made her look at him.

"Your little doggy can't save you this time. Within a few minutes, he'll be dead and I won't have to worry about him anymore." He said coldly.

Tara's eyes widened.

"You monster." she whispered.

Leon grinned.

"Yes well, I have what I want and that's all that matters to me." he said smirkingly before pressing his lips to hers forcefully.

Tara struggled furiosly, her small hands pushing on Leon's shoulders, tears falling fast from her eyes.

Managing to pull away, she spat in his face.

In furious anger, Leon punched her hard in the face, causing her lip to start bleeding and putting a nice little bruise on her cheek.

"You will learn some respect!" Leon roared before throwing her roughly into the car with her friends.

The girls embraced each other and cried quietly.

"I'm so sorry...I'm so sorry..." Tara whispered over and over, using her sleeve to wipe the blood off her mouth.

She had never thought Leon would go this far. How could she have been so stupid??

Becca and Lori hugged her, silently comforting her.

"They'll come for us." Becca whispered. "They promised."

Tara's eyes filled with tears, remembering what Leon had told her about the darts.

She didn't have the heart to tell her she was wrong.

So, sitting huddled together in the back seat with the Bently Brothers in the front, they waited for something that they weren't completely sure would come.

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The Glade had transformed. From a bright, peaceful haven, it had turned to a dark place, full of anger.

In was angry that someone had taken it's children, angry that someone had wounded it's friends.

The Glade was furious.

The wind roared around the three dying animals, the trees shaking and bowing. The leaves danced in this angry beat.

Howling wind filled the air and the normally soothing magic crackled and sparked in the dark.

Suddenly though, it all slowed and circled around the three creatures.

A whisper echoed in the trees brushing the dogs fur.

In unison, the needles that were quickly poisoning the dogs, slid out and fell silently to the green floor.

In the darkness of the Glade's fury, three pairs of glowing eyes snapped open.

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Mark Bently looked into the backseat, frowning at the sight of the weep-weary girls.

"Leon...we could arrested for this." he muttered.

"Shut up. You're starting to sound like Ian." Leon grumbled, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Hey!" Ian said indignately.

They ignored him.

"Leon, man really! These chicks aren't worth it!" Mark said again.

Leon turned and looked at him.

"You're actually trying to protect them are't you?" Leon asked, a grin spreading on his face.

"No! Man I'm trying to protect _us_!" Mark cried.

"Yeah sure." Leon said with a smirk.

A quiet passed over them until Ian made a comment.

"Looks like it might rain." He said, pointing at oncoming dark clouds. They were getting close quite fast actually.

A brown blur zapped past the passenger window, making Ian jump.

"Did you see that?" he asked fearfully.

"Just the weather, quit freaking out." Leon said.

Mark was instantly anxious. Something wasn't right and he knew it wasn't the weather.

Another flash and a blur of white passed Leon's window.

He jumped and cursed.

Mark looked at the girls, all of them we're holding each othes hands tightly.

Leaning back into his seat, he turned just in time to see three blurs of colors zoom in front of the car then disappear.

"What the heck is going on?!" Leon yelled angrily, the car swerving slightly.

"Something is mad at us." Ian whispered.

Mark shivered.

"Don't stop the car Leon." Mark said.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Leon yelled. "I'll do whatever I want!"

The sky outside was now crackling with lightening, though rain never fell.

A loud THUMP rang on the roof of the car and the three guys cried out.

The girls in the back strangly made no sound.

Leon jerked the car to a stop and opened the door, ignoring Mark and Ian's cries to stay inside.

Obviously he was too cool to listen to his friends.

He stepped out and looked around.

"There's nothing out he-" he was cut off as clawed hands grabbed him and pinned him to the car.

Leon stared fearfully into golden eyes surrounded by dark hair.

"Who are you?" Leon screamed shrilly.

The man sneered, his fangs glistening.

Leon cringed.

"You harmed what is ours." Three voices said together.

Leon stared around wildly, trying to find the source of the other voices.

Two other men came into his vision.

One had brown hair that was tied up in a ponytail . The other had long silver hair that hung down around his waist.

"What do you want?" Leon asked shakily.

The men grinned.

"What...is...ours." the said.

Throwing Leon aside, Inuyasha reached over and jerked the door open.

Becca jumped out and rushed into Koga's arms and was soon followed by Lori who ran to Sesshomaru, his arms going protectively around her.

Inuyasha reached into the car and pulled Tara out, pulling her into his arms.

Tara's eyes were filled with tears as she looked at Inuyasha.

"You came for us." she said softly.

Inuyasha frowned.

"We told you we would." He said, running his thumb across her broken lip that still bled slightly.

He growled slightly at the bruises on her cheek.

"We just got a little delayed." he said.

Tara let out a laugh and threw her arms around his neck.

"Are you guys okay though?" She asked worridly, burrying her face in his neck.

He chuckled and wrapped his arms tighter around her.

"We're all fine. The Glade took care of us." He said, stroking Tara's hair.

They heard Becca break the silence.

"Please don't leave us." she said softly.

Tara pulled away from Inuyasha slightly.

She looked to Koga, then Sesshomaru who had his chin on Lori's head, holding her tight.

Then she looked back into Inuyasha's golden eyes.

"Please." she echoed.

The guys looked down at the girls in their arms.

"Of course we'll stay with you." Koga said, not only to Becca but to Lori and Tara as well.

Lori's voice came from where she and Sesshomaru stood.

"Um...what about the Bently Brothers?" she asked curiously.

"Oh yeah." The guys said.

Just as they spoke, Leon stood up and threw a punch at Inuyasha.

He turned swiftly and caught Leon's hand and with a steady concentration, he tightened his grip.

A sickening cracking was heard, accompanied by Leon's screams as his hand was slowly crushed by the angry man.

"Please! Let go, I'm begging you!" Leon screamed.

"Did you let the girls go? Did you leave them unharmed?" Inuyasha asked, a new fire burning in his eyes.

He squeezed tighter, forcing Leon to his knees in pain.

"You planned to harm what is dear to us." Koga said, stepping to Inuyasha's side.

"And had we not intervened, you would have killed them, no?" Sesshomaru added coldly, walking to stand beside Koga.

"Do you deny it?!" Inuyasha yelled.

"No! I don't deny it!" Leon cried.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip even more, Leon's screams growing louder.

"Inuyasha stop!" Tara cried, rushing to him and touching his arm.

She was shaking, and feeling this, Sesshomaru and Koga turned to Lori and Becca, both of whom were pale from Leon's screams.

They immidiatelly moved to them, embracing them once again.

Inuyasha's gaze never left Tara's face and he released Leon's crushed hand.

He stepped to her and pulled her into his arms, kissing her head.

"I'm sorry." he whispered.

Tara simply nodded.

"Can we go home now?" She asked him softly.

He nodded and picked her up bridal style.

"Sesshomaru. Handle this garbage please?" He asked the silver haired demon.

Sesshomaru grinned.

"Of course." He said.

Koga growled.

"Why does he also get the fun jobs?" he grumbled.

"Because I know he won't try to eat them." Inuyasha said with a laugh.

"It's so unfair!" Koga pouted until Becca pulled his head down to kiss him.

"Poor baby." she said sarcastically.

Koga grinned and kissed her again, his arms going around her.

"Oh, she's good." Inuyasha said.

"Yep!" Tara agreed and kissed Inuyasha softly, her arms softly wrapping around his neck.

Lori pouted as she watched.

"Sesshomaru. Give me a kiss." she said, her lower lip puckering in a cute pout.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow.

"Whatever you wish." he said, and grinning, brought her lips to meet his.

Everyone say Awwwwwww.

Mark got out of the car and lifted Leon up none too gently and shoved him in the car.

Leon whimpered pitifully.

"Oh shut up." Mark told him.

Coming back around the car, he cleared his throat, breaking the three couple apart.

"I...I'm really sorry girls. I should have stopped him before it got to this." Mark said guiltily, fidgeting.

"Darn right you should have!" the three guys said angrily.

The girls shushed them and Lori smiled at Mark.

"It's alright Mark. Things turned out okay." she said.

Mark smiled weakly.

"But they could have not turned out okay." He sighed.

"You guys don't have to worry about Leon anymore. I'll make sure he gets taken care of." he said firmly.

"Like, "dead" taken care of?" Koga asked excitedly. Becca smacked him on the arm.

Mark chuckled nervously.

"No, but I'm sure the police will find something to do." he said.

Inuyasha nodded.

"Just make sure he can't hurt anyone else." Inuyasha told him.

Mark nodded fervently.

"I will." he said.

"Now...if you all don't mind, Tara and I are going home. See you guys later!" Inuyasha said with a grin and started running back down the road.

"Hey!" Becca said.

Koga picked her up too, positioning her on his back.

"Hold on tight!" he said with a grin, and took off after them. Becca was laughing her head off.

Lori sighed.

"They ditched us Sesshomaru." she said.

Sesshomaru smiled and kissed her softly again.

"Don't worry. When we beat them to the house, you can rub it in their faces." he said, picking her up and started down the road after them but cutting off onto a short cut.

Mark smiled after the six people that had just left.

Those girls would be fine now. They had good guys keeping them safe.

He leaned against the car thoughtfully, looking up into the now clear sky.

Ian had said that something was mad at them, and he knew he had been right.

But it hadn't been the guys, even though they had indeed been furious.

"That Glade of theirs is stranger than it looks." He muttered with a grin.

He pushed himself off the car and opened the door.

He yelled again at Leon to shut up and started the car.

He turned the car around and began driving down the road.

Next stop, police station. Leon was going to have sooooo much fun.

Mark laughed. He hadn't felt this good for a long time.

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**A.N.: _Well there ya go! Everyone clap for Mark, he's such a hero!! Just for clarification, Inuyasha IS in halfdemon form, I just made him have black hair instead. He looks hot with black hair and I wanted there to be things to set all three guys apart.  
Other than that, everything as is it usually is. Please review I'm really nervous about this chapter. more Romantic Goodness in the next chapter!!_**


	7. Peace in the Haven

**A.N.: _Well here it is finally. If my updates are crazy as far as timing, blame it all on my laptop since it has decided it doesn't love me anymore. Plus I have to wait till our internet company does their job :P but anyway, This chapter has a lot more fluff than usual but I still looooooved writing it. it was SO much fun. I hope you enjoy it! R&R please!!!_**

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Peace In the Haven

As Inuyasha and Koga suspected, Sesshomaru and Lori were the first to get back to the Glade.

"Cheaters." Koga grumbled.

Becca and Tara laughed from their positions on the boys.

Becca, who was on Koga's back, and Tara who was still in Inuyasha's arms as the four people got nearer to the center of the Glade.

Lori poked her head out of the vine door.

"Will you guys hurry up? Slow pokes! Geez!" She said with a grin.

Becca and Tara growled.

"You are asking for it missy." They said in unison.

Loro grinned wider.

"Whatcha guna do about it?" She taunted.

"That's it!" Becca cried, jumping away from Koga and charging after a screaming Lori.

Koga was laughing his head off as he stumbled after the two girls.

Tara giggled.

"Mature aren't they?" she asked.

"You have no idea." Inuyasha said with a grin and a roll of his eyes.

Tara laughed again.

Inuyasha gently put her down.

"How did you know we were the dogs?" he asked her.

Tara raised an eyebrow.

"That was random." She said but answered the question.

"It wasn't really all _that _difficult." She put her forehead to his.

"Actually your eyes gave it away." she said with a smile.

"Darn. And I thought we were being so sneaky." Inuyasha said.

Tara giggled and took his hand.

"Let's go see what torturous thing Becca did to Lori." she said as though mentioning the weather.

A wicked grin crossed Inuyasha's face and they slipped into the hidden center of the Glade.

Tara's eyes glowed at the sight.

Sesshomaru stood casually leaning next to the staircase, watching as Becca tickle-tortured Lori, who was rolling on the ground.

She shrieked and giggled as Becca attacked her.

Koga lay a few feet away, proped up on one elbow with his legs stretched out, watching the girls with a _very _wide grin.

Tara suddenly got an idea and touched Inuyasha's arm.

"Whatch this." she said with a smirk.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms as Tara's grin fell off her face, being replaced with a cold scowl.

"Becca! Enough of this!" she yelled, stomping furiously up to the girls on the ground.

The three guys stared in shock at her, even Becca looked surprised.

"How could you do this to Lori?" Tara demanded, pointed firmly at Lori who smirked smugly at Becca.

"You're just doing this all wrong! _This _is how you do it!" she cried, the scowl instantly falling away as she joined in Lori's torture.

After a few minutes of torment, the girls collapsed beside each other, out of breath.

"Truce?" Becca asked.

"Truce." Lori and Tara agreed.

The guys chickled came to lay down beside them, squeezing in between them.

So, lying boy-girl-boy-girl, each couple holding hands, they all stared up at the canopy.

As night slowly fell, the Glade was peaceful. More than peaceful actually, it was...happy.

A gentle breeze brushed past them, lifting their hair and tossing it playfully around, carressing their faces.

Tara spoke softly.

"Funny isn't it? this morning we were being kidnapped, and now we're lying here together." She said, a blissful smile crossing her lips.

"It's the way things are meant to be." They heard Sesshomaru say, his deep, smooth voice strangely without it's usual cold tint.

"It's all so perfect isn't it?" Becca asked.

"Hey don't jinx it." Tara said jokingly. "Something bad might happen.

No sooner than she had said this, her cell phone rang.

They all shot up, knowing from experience that Tara's darn phone _never _brought good news.

Brows creased in worry, she hesitantly flipped the phone open and put it on speaker.

"Hello?" she asked nervously.

"Tara? It's Dad."

Tara's face went cold and her body went rigid. Inuyasha put his arms around her as the others drew close in a circle.

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Calm down Tara, let me explain."

"Calm down?! You betrayed my trust! You tried to take...one of the most important people in my life! And you want me to calm down?!" She yelled into the phone, tears of frustration, all the pent up anger and fear rushing through her.

"Tara I...I was only trying to protect you...I didn't know..." her father said, his deep voice breaking with emotion.

"Listen...Your mother and I, as well as Becca and Lori's parents want to make this up to you. We're all going to take a vacation!" Her dad's voice sounded almost desperate.

The girls shared a glance.

"Where?" Tara asked shortly.

Her Dad sighed softly in relief that she was even still on the line.

"Up in the mountains. Theres a big forest with trails and log cabins and the town is full of little shops you girls can go shop in."

He almost sounded like a commercial.

Tara looked at Inuyasha who nodded to her.

"You girls need to go." he whispered.

Tara grinned.

"Alright Dad. But on one condition."

"Okay?"

"We get to bring three friends. Everything will be clean and innocent, but I want them to come with us." Becca and Lori beamed.

"I'm assuming these are guys then?" Her dad asked reluctantly.

Tara raised an eyebrow.

"Hold on one sec." she pulled the phone away slightly.

"You _are _guys right?" she asked the three men.

Koga snorted.

"Well I don't know about _all _of us." He said with a smirk, looking pointedly at Sesshomaru and Inuyasha, both of whom growled and pounced on Koga.

Tara rolled her eyes as the three guys rolled past.

"Yep Dad, I'm pretty sure they're guys. They have the maturity level anyway." she said, grinning.

Lori and Becca found this _very _amusing, and laughed even harder when all three guys looked up with a pout.

"Heeeeyyy." They all said.

Becca and Lori laughed harder.

"So anyway. That's the condition." Tara said, laughter coming through her voice.

They heard voices conversing and realized that all the parents were there.

"Alright, that's fine. Are you girls going to stay in the Glade?" Her dad asked.

Tara gasped.

"You don't mind?" she asked unbelievably.

"Well, we do, but obviously you girls are able to take care of yourselves so we won't stop you."

The girls squealed around the phone.

They didn't notice the three men behind them, still tangled up, wince at the loud noise.

Such babies.

They heard their parents chuckle.

"We'll pick you up around ten a.m. okay?" Her dad asked cheerfully.

"Yeah that's fine, we'll be ready!" Tara said, trembling with excitement.

"Alright. And Tara?" 

"Yeah?" she asked softly.

"I really do love you. And I'm sorry. We all are. We should have trusted your judgement." her dad's voice was sad and regretful.

"Yes...you should have." Tara said with a small smile. "But everything is as it should be. We're happy."

The girls smiled at each other, and they gave contented sighs as the guys sat back down with them, all of them wrapping their arms around the girls.

"And I love you too Daddy." She said.

Becca and Lori awwwed.

Tara stuck her tongue out at them and told her dad bye.

Snapping the phone shut, she turned and jumped into Inuyasha's arms.

"We're going on vacation!" She squealed, giggling when she saw the girls do the same.

"So." she said, eyes glowing.

"Soooo." Inuyasha said.

"I say we go do something we've yet to do in these forms." Sesshomaru said, Lori laying comfortably against his chest.

"And that would be?" Lori asked, looking up at him.

Sesshomaru gave a little wiggle of his hips and Lori shrieked.

"You pervert!" She cried, slapping him on the arm.

Tara caught on to what he meant and laughed her head off.

"He meant dancing you moron!" She cried, still giggling.

"Oh...Okay!" Lori said, jumping up and pulling on Sesshomaru's hands.

Tara jumped up as well, grabbing Becca's hands as well, tugging on her.

The three girls took off for the staircase, all of them racing to get to the top first.

But, as does usually happen when dating three demons, the girls lost the race since the guys were able to simply take one leap and get to the top.

The girls pouted.

"You bunch of cheaters!" Becca muttered.

The guys looked down guiltily.

Tara, Lori and Becca shared a quick glance.

"Psych!" they cried and shoved the guys out of the way, rambing their way through the door.

"Ha! We win!" Lori cried.

"Now who cheats?" Inuyasha asked with his arms crossed.

Tara looked up with an innocent grin.

"Everybody."

Inuyasha smirked and helped her up.

"Too true." he said.

Tara turned to Lori.

"Crank up the tunes girl!"

Which of course, Lori was happy to oblige.

Two buttons pressed and a turn of the volume and the house was full of music.

The girls were struck with a sudden feeling of how odd the situation seemed.

Not three days before, they had been doing this very thing, but with their dogs.

Now their dogs were their _boyfriends._

Weird. You definitely don't see _that _happening every day.

Leon Bently forgotten, over-protective parents put aside.

All that mattered was the fact that they were with the people they cared about.

The six friends did nothing but enjoy each others company as they danced to the blissful magic coursing through their veins.

After about ten songs of dancing around like loons, the girls were more than pooped and crashed on the bed, lying every which way.

The boys, of course, were not but hey, they had the advantage of being non-human.

Chuckling at the exhausted girls, the boys sat down beside them.

Laying down beside the girls, they breathed in the feeling of each other.

For a long time no one said a word, afraid to break the silence.

"Guys? How...did you get here? I mean, you are from the Feudal Era right?" Becca asked from where she lay.

"Yeah. Actually..." Koga sat up a little and looked at the guys.

"How _did _we get here?" he asked.

Sesshomaru sat up and Inuyasha proped up on his elbows.

"I remember all of us seeing someone and following it. But I don't remember who it was or even what it was." Sesshomaru said, a little silver strand falling in his face.

Of course Lori couldn't help but tuck it away.

"Yeah that's right. It caught our attention and we followed it...and then there was that bright light and we were in the Glade." Inuyasha said, grinning at Tara.

"Well, then we didn't know it was the Glade, I just know that we liked it." Koga said.

Becca narrowed her eyes at him.

"You guys didn't go like, _mark your territory _or anything, did you?" She asked.

Koga chuckled nervously.

"Nope."

"Mmmm..." 

Koga cleared his throat.

"Anyway..."

Tara looked up suddenly.

"By the way, why were you guys fighting when we found you?" She asked curiously.

The guys looked confused.

"Fighting?" Koga asked.

"When you found us?" Inuyasha added.

Tara rolled her eyes.

"Yes that is what I said, thank you for clarifying. Mind answering the question now?" She asked.

Sesshomaru also rolled his eyes.

"As I remember it, Inuyasha had stepped on Koga's paw and Koga pounced him, then they both rolled into me so I pounced on the both of them." He said matter-of-factly.

The girls stared in shock.

Then they collapsed back on the bed, laughing their heads off.

"Oh my...oh my god!" Lori and Becca cried, another round of laughter following.

Tara wiped tears of glee from her eyes and sat up, still giggling every few seconds.

"Hey what did you mean "finally?" Tara asked Sesshomaru curiously.

The guys shared a glance and Koga and Inuyasha gave pointed glares to Sesshomaru.

"Oh...um...slip of the tongue." Sesshomaru fumbled, grinning.

Lori crossed her arms.

"Uh hu." she said.

"Heh heh." the guys chuckled.

"Whatever." Becca said and bounced off the bed.

Koga's eyes went wide. He grabbed Becca's hand and pulled her back to him.

"Becca don't go! We didn't mean it, please don't leave me now that I can be with you!" He cried, looking incredibly desperate. It was very cute.

Tara and Lori clapped their hands over their mouths to keep from bursting with more laughter.

Becca stared at Koga, leaning forward towards the wolf demon clinging to her.

"Um, Koga?"

"Yeah?"

"I was going to the bathroom. I'll be back I promise." she said calmly.

"Oh...well okay." Koga said, slowly releasing his hold on her.

Tara let out an unladylike snort and buried her face in Lori's sleeve who was also shaking with high pitched giggles.

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha had wicked grins on their faces as they watched Becca walk away.

"Guilty consience eh?" Inuyasha said, nudging his older brother.

"Obviously feeling guilty about something." Sesshomaru replied and was anwered with more high pitched giggles.

Koga coughed.

"Well how was I supposed to know?" He asked.

More giggles.

Koga sighed.

"I'm so abused." he muttered.

Inuyasha laughed.

"Get over it wolf." He said.

Koga growled.

"You guna make me mutt?" he said.

The two boys started growling at each other.

Tara rolled her eyes to Lori.

"No more mature in real life than in the show are they?" she said.

"Nope." Lori said with a grin.

Tara looked around suddenly.

"Hey...where do you guys keep getting the clothes?" she asked, motioning to the blue jeans and tops they were wearing.

Sesshomaru's was white with a black jaket, Koga's wore a black t-shirt and Inuyasha's wore a white t-shirt with a red jacket.

Very adorable.

Sesshomaru shrugged.

"They were all wrapped up in a bag when we got here." He answered as if it was an everyday occurence.

Koga looked at his t-shirt then up at the girls, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"If you don't like them we can always just not wear them. We're not shy or anything." Koga said, and recieved a flying pillow to the head.

"You are not going to run around naked." Lori said calmly.

She glanced at the other two guys sitting next to them and looking innocent.

"And I know the same thought was going through your heads so it goes for you too." She said, preparing to throw another pillow.

"Lori, quit scaring them please." Becca said as she re-entered the room and sat down beside Koga.

"Okie dokie." Lori said cheerfully.

Tara grinned at her.

"So, are you guys okay with coming with us tomorrow?" She asked.

"Of course it is you dumby. Why wouldn't we come?" Inuyasha said with a sniff.

Tara smiled.

"I was just making sure." She said.

Koga chose that moment to give a big, and very loud yawn. Becca giggled.

"How bout we go to sleep now eh?" Inuyasha said and a grin at Tara. She rolled her eyes but crawled further up the bed anyway.

The guys stripped off their shirts and the girls shared a secret, but very wide grins.

Lori reached over and flipped off the lights and crawled into bed.

"Woohoo sleep!" Lori said cuddling up to Sesshomaru who wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah...sleep." Becca said sleepily, she and Koga getting comfortable on the pull out couch while the other two couples slept on the big bed.

She too curled up next to Koga and the two of them slowly fell asleep.

Tara lay with her back against Inuyasha's chest and his arms around her waist.

She layed her hands on top of his and gave a soft sigh of happiness.

Inuyasha leaned over and kissed her cheek, making her smile.

"Goodnight." He said.

"Goodnight!!" Everybody answered him.

The girls laughed and Inuyasha snorted.

"Crazy people." He said.

"You know it." Koga answered cheerfully.

"Go to sleep both of you or I'll be forced to kill you." Sesshomaru said.

"I second that." Becca added.

"Geez be quiet, you bunch of loudmouths!" Lori said.

Tara started laughing.

"Goodnight!" She cried.

"Goodnight!!!" Everyone replied.

"No one say a word." Sesshomaru said.

"But you just said a word!" Inuyasha said.

"Geeeez!!!" Koga yelled into the dark.

The girls burst into laughter.

"Okay, I'm going to say goodnight, you all say goodnight, and then we go to sleep. Okay?" Becca said.

"Gotcha." the guys answered.

"Goodnight!" Becca said.

"Goodnight!!!!" they all yelled.

Thankfully, nobody else said anything else because they all fell asleep.

For once, The Glade was glad they had shut up.

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**A.N.: _Omg that was fun to write. The next chapter will be fun to write too. Please review! I live for reviews!! Ciao! throws potato chips at everyone_**


	8. Winter's Windows

**A.N.: _Omg I am SO SORRY for all the mistakes in the last chapter. I re-read it after I posted it and almost cried. I'm rrrrreeeeaaaallllyyyyy sorry...Most of the mistakes were because I wrote them in my notebook first then changed everything when I wrote it on the computer, hence all the missing words that were meant to make conversations topics. Well anyway, I'm very sorry. I'll re-check this one a billion times before I upload it I promise. Love you guys!! _**

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Winter's Window 

**Lori's Dream  
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_She stood in the center of an elegant hall, filled with antiques and a candle-lit chandelier above her. _

Lovely ocean blue drapes covered ceiling high windows that showed the bright winter day outside. The stone floor was covered with a deep blue rug that helped keep the chill out of the castle.

Lori stood in the center of the rug, feeling the happiness fill her.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned, only then noticing her outfit.

She was dressed in a flowing pink gown. It had long sleeves that flowed to her wrists and a white sash that tied around her waist. Bellow the sash, the dress flared out to the floor in silky layers.

To her surprise, poking out from underneath the gorgeous dress were a pair of yellow, fluffy, and absolutely adorable house-shoes that were covered in red penguins.

She giggled and twirled around.

As she turned, she ran right into Sesshomaru who took her arms and began to dance with her to the faint music in the hall.

"How are my favorite people today?" he asked with a wide grin as he placed a clawed hand gently on Lori's still flat stomach.

Lori beamed and kissed Sesshomaru's cheek.

"Wonderful." she said happily.

Sesshomaru pulled her to him, nuzzling her neck. Lori was a little shocked. This was so...un-Sesshomaru!

But then again, it could have something to do with her being pregnant with their first child.

He gave a contented sigh as he held her and she smiled.

A young voice piped up behind them.

"Lord Sesshomaru? Jaken is stuck in the fire place." she said calmly. Obviously it happened a lot.

"Later Rin." He answered just as calmly.

Lori grinned.

"Why do_ you keep that toad?" she asked curiously. _

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes.

"He keeps Rin preoccupied so that she's not bothering us." He grinned. "Which I definitely prefer."

Lori laughed and kissed him, feeling the unimaginable bliss in the air as she stood in her loves embrace.

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Lori turned over in her sleep, molding into Sesshomaru's side. He unconciously pulled her closer, and both slept on with small smiles on their faces.

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Becca's Dream

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Becca rocked gently in her favorite red recliner, reading a new book. She heard the sound of many feet, lots of squealing and screaming, then sudden silence.The front door opened and three half-demon children walked in.

Becca hid her smile as she looked at her paint covered children.

They walked slowly up to her with bright, innocent smiles.

"Hi mama." Her youngest said loudly. He was three, presently had paint stains on his clothes and a spot of pink on the furry brown ears sticking out of his hair. He followed his sisters everywhere, and they positively adored him.

"Hello dears." Becca said, putting her book down on the table beside her.

"We were playing with paint." Her four year old girl said with a bright smile. She too had paint smeared on her, except on her cheeks. Her dark brown ears twitched slightly.

"I see that."

"We played with daddy." She said.

"Uh hu. Was it fun?" Becca asked, leaning back into her chair and rocking slightly.

"Yep!" her children said with big smiles.

Her oldest, five years old, nudged her little sister who nudged their little brother.

"Um, we're going to go clean up. Bye!" She said and turned around, running out of the living room with her sibling following after.

Becca's son stopped halfway and turned around, ran up to her and kissed her cheek.

"Bye mama!" he said loudly, and ran after his sisters.

Becca was still chuckling when the front door opened again and her husband walked in.

She turned in her chair to look at him and snorted.

"What?" he asked suspiciously.

Becca snorted again and pointed to his hair.

Koga turned and looked in the mirror.

His long brown hair now had long streaks of pink, as well as what looked like a couple hundred pink bows.

"Courtesy of your daughters no doubt." He said with a grin, fingering one of the delightful ornaments.

"No, your_ daughters. They're only mine when they're good." Becca said with a grin. _

"Yeah right! They are clones of their mother." Koga said, pressing his head against hers with a smile.Becca giggled.

"So do you like my new do?" Koga asked her smirking.

"Oh it's totally you." She answered.

"You know you just can't resist my pink bows." Koga said, pulling away and strutting in front of her.

"You're right, I totally can't." Becca said, picking up her book again.

Koga grinned and grabbed a bow and a glope of pink paint, in one swift move, placing it on Becca's hair with a splat.

Becca squealed and jumped Koga, sending them both rolling to the floor and ending up with Koga on top.

They laughed as they laid there, amused at the image of the other covered in paint.

There was a bump, a great deal of whispering and shushing, then sudden quiet.

Looking up, the two parents saw three little heads peeping out from behind the couch.

"Whatcha doin'?" Koga asked them curiously.

"Hiding." their oldest answered innocently.

"Oh? From who?" he asked.

"You. Shhh, you can't see us!" Their son said, putting a finger up to his lips.

Their oldest daughter rolled her eyes and jumped out from behind the couch, followed by her siblings.

_Soon, poor Becca was the base of a dog-pile of squealing children. _

Becca and Koga laughed as their kids climbed over, under, around them. And smiling at his wife, Koga leaned down and kissed her very softly.

"EEEEEWWWWW!!!!" The kids yelled and ran from the room.

The two people pulled apart and watched their children run away.

"Well theres a way to get rid of them." Koga said.

"Seems to work well enough." Becca added, and with a grin, pulled Koga back down to her for another warm kiss.

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Becca rolled over in her sleep, a wide smile on her face. Unconciously, she stretched out her hand and touched Koga's face gently, before falling back into the happy dream world.

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Tara's Dream

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_Tara sat next to a window, watching the snow fall outside. _

She wore a long, blue silk gown and had her long brown hair pulled up in a pony tail.

She heard soft breathing and turned to walk over to the small cradle.

Peeking in, she saw her little girl sleeping peacefully. Her tiny head was covered in silver hair, adorned with two tiny dog ears.

Tara reached her hand in and gently brushed her fingers against the baby's soft cheek, a smile crossing her lips.

Her baby gave a sigh and grabbed her fingers in her sleep. Tara smiled wider.

She heard footsteps behind her and turned to see Inuyasha standing in the doorway, a goofy smile on his face.

"She asleep?" He whispered into the darkness.

"Yes, finally." Tara whispered back, pulling her finger from the tiny girls grasp.

Inuyasha came to stand beside her, his arms coming around to wrap around her waist. He laid his chin on her shoulder and breathed deeply.

Tara lifted her hand and rubbed his ears, giggling when he growled.

"Shh. If you wake her up, you get to rock her back to sleep." Tara said softly.

"Oh the torture." Inuyasha said without very much sarcasm.

Tara laughed quietly and kissed his cheek.

They were silent for a while, simply standing there together and looking down at their child as they rocked gently side to side.

"I love you." Inuyasha whispered into her ear.

Tara smiled brightly and turned in his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I love you too." She whispered and was still smiling when Inuyasha leaned down and kissed her.

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Tara opened her eyes slowly, a smile still on her face. She felt Inuyasha's arms around her, his head lying next to hers.

She breathed deeply as sleep took hold of her again, and just before she fell asleep again, she whispered, "I love you Inuyasha."

His ears twitched and he opened his eyes slightly.

He felt her breathing even out as she fell back into slumber.

Sure that she was asleep again, he whispered back.

"I love you too."

He pulled her a little closer to him, closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

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**A.N.: _Awwwww that was just so sweet. Sorry it's so short but I wanted this chapter to be ONLY the girls' dreams. Hope you liked them!! Please R&R for me:D  
Next chapter, Vacation!! Part I :D Laters ya'll!! _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	9. Confrontations and Cabin Magic

**A.N.: _Hey guys! sorry it's been so long since I updated, I've had terrible writers block T.T but, thanks to my wonderful inspirations peoples Lori and Becca, as well as my reviewers, I'm back to writing! I should have the next few chapters up in less than a week if all goes well. And to all my readers and reviewers, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!! _**

11-28-06 AN: I just want everyone to know that I've had this chapter typed up and ready for the past week. The time before that was my fault, but the last week has solely been Just fyi. Enjoy the chappie! and PLEASE REVIEW! I LOVE REVIEWERS!!

Chapter Nine: Confrontations and Cabin Magic

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A Strange buzzing cut through the girls wonderfully peaceful sleep. All groaned in unison.

Since Tara was the one closest to the horrid alarm clock, she was the one who had to turn it off.

She lifted her head from her warm pillow and glared hatefully at the machine.

Lifting a limp arm, she picked it up and chucked it forcefully across the room.

"Stupid thing." she muttered, her voice scratchy with sleep.

For about another three minutes the girls dozed.

Only in the morning when you are being woken up do you realize how precious sixty seconds really is.

"Are you three _ever _going to get up?" they heard Koga's voice ask.

"Stuff it." Becca grumbled and shoved her head under her pillow, her left arm dangling from underneath the blanket.

Koga grinned and crawled on the bed.

"Wake up sleeping beauty." he cooed.

Becca whimpered.

"Go away, please?" she begged.

Koga lifted the pillow off her head and brushed the hair out of her face.

"I would, but your partents are waiting for us outside of the glade."

"WHAT?!?!" three girls screamed and shot up, scrambling to get ready.

The boys simply sat and enjoyed the show as three blurs of girls ran wildly around the small house.

"My hair! Where's the brush?"

"Oh my God, where is my suitcase?"

"Here it is!"

"YAY!"

"Wow I've been looking for that for ages!"

"Brush! Where is the brush?!"

"Okay we'll need this, and this, and uhhh oh yeah this."

"AAAAHHH! Where is the freaking brush?!"

And so it went, for the next five minutes. All three boys simply sat and watched, amused grins on their faces.

"Good thing they aren't rushed eh?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yeah...what a relief." Koga said.

Sesshomaru simply grinned.

Suddenly the scurry stopped and three completely ready girls were pulling their suitcases out the door.

Becca poked her head in.

"Coming?" she asked smiling.

The boys simply stared, before Sesshomaru burst into laughter and stood up, following after the girls.

Together, they walked down the golden staircase down to the Glade.

The boys had caught up to the girls and were now carrying their bags for them, walking a few feet behind the girls.

The Glade whispered softly, rustling their hair around them, and Inuyasha's ears pricked up while Koga and Sesshomaru froze.

They looked around, all three of them trying to sniff out whatever it was they sensed.

Finding nothing, they caught up to the girls and left the Glade.

The girls giggled the whole way there, frequently looking back at the boys.

The three boys just smiled and rolled their eyes, following in silence.

When they reached the end of the trees, the girls turned around and faced them.

"Okay, just relax, be yourselves, and they'll love you." Becca said reassuringly to the fidgeting boys.

It just figures that two demons and a hanyou who can kill enemies without blinking an eye, and yet when faced with meeting their girlfriends parents, they were shaking in their shoes!

It was so cute!

The six teenagers walked through the trees and up to the cars where all six parents stood staring.

The Fathers had their arms crossed and had a mean look that _plainly _said, "You touch my daughter and I'll carve out your heart with a spoon."

Not the most encouraging welcome for the nervous boys.

"Hi mom. Hi dad." the girls said in unison.

"Hello dears." Tara's mother said with a grin, and Becca and Lori's moms smiled at them.

The Dads just grunted. Actually it was more like a grumble-grunt.

"Heh heh." Koga chuckled nervously.

Inuyasha was standing a little closer to Tara than was neccessary, and was inching his hand towards Tara's.

Obviously he was just as nervous as Koga was.

Sesshomaru on the other hand, was _not _nervous.

He stood with his arms crossed, having a staring match with Lori's father who was happily returning.

If looks could kill, they'd both be soooooo dead.

Inuyasha cleared his throat and walked slowly up to Tara's Dad. He straightened his back a little and looked her father in the eyes.

"Hello sir. I'm Inuyasha." he said calmly as he held out his hand.

Tara and the girls held their breath, eyes incredibly wide.

Suddenly Tara's Dad burst into laughter and shook Inuyasha's hand happily.

Becca's Dad followed and pulled a rather frightened Koga into a bear hug.

The girls squealed and hugged each other.

But there was still a problem.

Sesshomaru and Lori's Dad were still staring each other down and neither looked willing to give up.

Lori walked up to stand beside Sesshomaru, placing a hand on his arm.

Gold eyes turned to look down into hers.

Lori could see the anger there. Why the anger was there, she didn't know, but it was there.

"Please." she said very softly.

Sesshomaru's cold eyes softened and he relaxed him arms, never breaking their eye contact.

His left arm fell to wrap around her hips, looking purposefully up at her father with a sneer that said, "She is so mine."

Lori's Dad's eyes hardened even more, and his face began to turn purple.

"Lori. Come here." he growled out, hands balled up into fists at his side.

"No." Lori said, still looking at Sesshomaru/

"I wasn't asking! I'm telling! Come here now!"

"No!" Lori said firmly.

"You will come here now, or I will make you regret it." Lori's father said threateningly, taking a step towards her.

"I'm staying right where I am." Lori said calmly.

Her dad took another step towards her and raised his fist.

Faster than he could blink, Sesshomaru was in front of Lori, shielding her with his arm.

"If you even think about hurting her, I will not hesitate to kill you." he said in a dead calm, his golden eyes cold as ice, his entire form rigid.

Lori's Dad froze, and something about the strange silver-haired teen told him that he was NOT bluffing.

Tara and Becca's Dad's grabbed onto Lori's Dad's arms, holding him still.

"If you try and hurt your child, the boy won't be the only one protecting Lori." Tara's Dad said firmly.

"Just leave it be. Don't do anything stupid that could cause you to lose your daughter and go to jail." Becca's Dad added warningly.

For a brief moment Lori's Dad and Sesshomaru just stared at each other, locked again in their battle.

While Sesshomaru simply held the stare coldly, Lori's Dad gave up. He looked away, looking like he'd eaten something foul.

He pulled out of the girls' fathers grasp with a jerk and walked back to his car.

Lori's mother gave an apologetic look to Lori before turning and following her husband.

Tara's mom let out a breath.

"Wonderful way to start out a vacation."

"Tell me about it." Becca's mom replied.

The girls all giggled a little and hugged each other.

Sesshomaru was still very tense, so Inuyasha walked up to him and put a clawed hand on his shoulder.

"You did good big brother." he said fondly.

Sesshomaru relaxed and gave Inuyasha a small smile.

"Thanks."

"If you two get any more nauseating, I think I'll die right here." Koga said loudly, soon followed by the three girls hitting him with their purses/heavy bags/a rock or two.

"OW!!"

"Shut up!" the girls yelled at him.

He behaved after that.

Tara giggled and turned to introduce Inuyasha to her parents, but her mother had beaten her to it.

"Strange ears." she muttered as she examined Inuyasha's white ears atop black hair. She had Inuyasha bending down slightly, as he was a little taller than her, and was fingering them curiously.

Inuyasha grinned at Tara who started laughing.

"Alright girls, you six are going to be staying in a cabin by yourselves. We trust you'll behave?" Tara's mom said with a pointed look at the boys who grinned.

"Yes ma'am." they answered.

"Mhmm. Our cabin is about five minutes walk away so if any of you need us, call and we'll be right over okay?" Becca's mom added.

"Got it!" the girls said excitedly. They couldn't _believe _they had their own cabin. Pranks would be soooooo much more fun to pull now.

"Alright then! Let's go!" The Dad's cried.

"To Tara's car!" Lori screamed, and everybody plowed for the van.

A car that normally fit seven people somehow managed to seat nine. With two parents in front (Tara's) two parents in middle (Becca's) and three boys and three girls in the back, they were packed. The three girls were on the guys laps, much to the boys' happiness.

Only one word described a vehicle that full.

"FUN!" they screamed.

Then of course, Lori had to burst into the terrible F.U.N. song from Spongebob, sending the girls into a chorus.

The guys just looked at each other and grinned at the girls fun.

The trip was fun, full of singing (often bad), laughing and toooooons of very bad jokes.

Needles to say, the parents were very happy to see the mountain cabin.

They pulled in and the girls just stared.

The cabin looked picture perfect, warm looking and surrounded by huge trees that seemed to grasp for the skies.

"It's almost like home." Tara whispered, thinking of their Glade home.

"Yeah." the girls whispered.

Before the teens could blink twice, they, as well as their stuff, had been tossed out of the van.

The six teenagers stared after the vehicle speeding away, accompanied by the cackling of Tara and Becca's mothers.

"They are so weird." Tara said.

"Totally." Lori and Becca said.

"Yeah...But I like 'em." Inuyasha said with a grin.

"Me too." Koga and Sesshomaru added with grins of their own.

The girls laughed and picked up their bags.

"Well let's go!" Becca cried and took off into the log cabin, Lori and Tara quickly following.

The boys followed them, stepping into the cabin.

The house smelled warm and spicy. Like Christmas, only better. There were couches and chairs and a gigantic bed that was atleast ten feet long and wide.

The colors were fall schemed, red and orange and gold. Candles sat on window ledges and tables, made enchanting by the wax tracks on them.

The wooden floors were carpeted with russian looking rugs. One such rug sat in front of the fireplace that was also very large.

Inside the fireplace was a log that looked like it was burning, while it actually put out heat.

The windows were stained glass of the same colors as the rest of the house, and the girls were having trouble breathing when they walked in.

"It's so beautiful!" they cried, dropping their things.

"Yeah it's okay." Koga said.

"Okay??" Becca asked. "It's gorgeous!"

Koga grinned.

"I know. You're just fun to pick on."

Becca sighed.

"I'm so abused." she said.

Tara and Lori patted her on the back.

"It's okay dahling. We'll get them back later." Tara said.

"Them? What them?" Inuyasha asked defensively.

Tara smirked.

"Well you're all involved." she said innocently.

Inuyasha and Sesshomaru smacked Koga on the back of the head.

"You always get us in trouble." Sesshomaru said with a sneer.

"Not intentionally." Koga said, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, sure." Inuyasha said with a grin.

"Okay well, unless you guys wanna starve, I say we look around for something to eat." Lori said.

Just then, Tara's phone rang.

"Yeah?" she asked.

"Hey baby, just thought I'd let you know that we ordered a few pizza's for you, so they should be there soon." her moms voice came over the line.

The guys gave loud whoops and the girls squealed.

"Thanks mom!" The three girls cried.

The women laughed and said, "Bye!"

"Bye!" everyone answered and hung up.

"Now what?" Inuyasha asked.

"I say we just put on some music and dance!" Becca said, pulling out her cd's and putting it in what they discovered was surround-sound stereo.

"Woohoo!" Lori and Tara cried, and soon the cabin was full of music and the familiar warm magic that was always a constant in their Glade back home.

Had anyone looked in the window, they would have seen six teenagers having a blast with each other, and a strange sparkling around them.

It was almost like magic.

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**A.N.: _There we go! Next chapter up tomorrow if I get reviews grins it helps me write the chapters faster!! Cookies for everyone! throws cookies Love ya! _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	10. Nighmares of the Future

**A.N.: _Hello again everyone! Just to warn you, this chapter is VERY SAD!...like VERY!...SAD!!...yeah okay, just warning you.  
Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to ahunmaster who gave me the wonderful idea for the guys having dreams. Sadly ahunmaster, I twisted the idea and their dreams are not even close to being sweet like the girls. Sorry to dissappoint. But REMEMBER! these dreams DO have a very important meaning. anyways, on with the chapter! _**

Chapter Ten: Nightmares of the Future 

The first night at the cabin was a blast. They danced until the girls were tired (which was rather quickly), at their pizza and went to bed.

They were all sleeping on the giant bed, paired off like usual.

The girls slept peacefully, curled up to the three demons.

The boys however, slept very little. And what time they did, they dreamed.

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Sesshomaru's Dream

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Sesshomaru looked around and saw he was in his castle. The candles were dim and the place felt dreary and cold.

He heard a loud noise and quite a lot of cursing and turned to see _himself _walking down the hall.

Well actually, he was stomping through the halls like Godzilla, that weird movie about the lizard Lori had made him watch.

He could tell just by looking at...himself...that he was livid and very grounchy.

Sesshomaru followed as the other him barged into his bedroom, scaring the girl on the bed.

Sesshomaru watched her actually _smile _at the angry demon. Sure it was a weak, nervous, even scared smile but it was a smile!

Her hair was short, cut above the shoulders and was golden blonde. She looked young and was very beautiful.

"Hello dear." the girl said.

"Shut up. I don't feel like listening to you."

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. Angry or not, he'd never speak to a woman like that.

The girl lowered her head and Sesshomaru saw tears splatter on the bed covers.

'Lori.' Sesshomaru thought and tried to walk to her but found that his dream had frozen his feet. He couldn't move!

"You're just like my father." he heard her whisper. "I said shut up!" his dream self roared, and back-handed her sharply across the face, causing her to be thrown off the bed and hit the floor with a cry of pain.

Sesshomaru felt his blood boiling, furious that someone (even himself) had hurt _his _Lori!

But once again, he could not move to protect her.

"Why did you marry me if this is how it was going to be?" she yelled at him, tears running down her cheeks as she clutched her stomach.

Sesshomaru's dream self sneered.

"I was a foolish teenager." he said.

"Well then why not just divorce me?" Lori wept.

The imposter grabbed Lori roughly by the hair and yanked her head up to look at him.

She gave another soft cry and whimpered.

"Because I will never let that _filthy _mutt of a half-brother and that godforsaken wolf up me one." he snarled. Then he sneered.

"Besides. I might as well get an heir out of a stupid mistake like you." he said, grabbing her stomach painfully, making her cry out.

Sesshomaru saw red as the anger in him boiled over. He balled his fists, his claws cutting deep into his palms.

"That is MY pup! MY heir! MY WIFE!" he roared and wrenched free of the demons snare.

His other self's eyes widened in horror as the enraged demon charged towards him.

"No!" the imposter whispered.

"Yes." Sesshomaru hissed cockily and sank his lengthened claws into the others belly.

Then, pulling him by his own skin, Sesshomaru yanked and hurled the screaming demon out of the window where he knew he would get to know some very pointy rocks quite well.

He turned instantly to Lori, who's eyes were wide.

"Sesshomaru? _My _Sesshomaru?" she asked, as if not daring to hope.

"Yes. It's me." he said and gently embraced her, cradling her to him.

He felt tears choke him.

'I did this to her.' he thought over and over in his mind as he held the trembling girl.

"How did I become that?" he asked brokenly.

Lori pulled away slightly.

"You neve really opened up to me. You never really trusted me." she said sadly.

"But I do trust you!" he protested.

"No. You trusted yourself, but not me." she said.

Sesshomaru felt broken, horrified that his distrust had led to this. _Would _lead to this.

"No. I _won't _let this happen!" he said firmly.

Lori smiled a little.

"I hope not. For your sake...and your child's." she said, placing her hand on her stomach.

He pulled her into a hug, hearing the weak heartbeat of his dying pup and his dying wife.

"I promise."

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Sesshomaru sat up, panting and covered in a cold sweat.

He looked down and saw Lori, asleep and beautiful.

He laid back down and pulled her close.

"I promise Lori." he whispered as he drifted off.

And this time, he slept peacefully.

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Koga's Dream

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Koga walked into his house with a sigh.

He set his keys down, noticing that the house was strangely quiet.

The kids usually made more noise than this.

"Becca? You home?" he called into the silent house.

"Yes, I'm here." her voice answered from the bedroom. It sounded...different.

He followed her voice into the room and stopped dead at the door.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing her packing her clothes into a bag.

"I'm taking the kids and we're leaving." she said coldly.

Koga felt his blood freeze.

"Becca don't." he whispered, unable to speak louder.

"I can't stay here any longer." she said, pulling on a coat.

"Why?" he asked, feeling his heart break.

"You're never here any more!" she said, looking at him. "The kids never see you and me and you don't do _anything _together! If the kids aren't going to have a father here, then they might as well not have a father somewhere else." she said, tears coming through her voice now.

She turned, holding her bags. Her eyes were dull and sad.

"Becca please...please don't leave." Koga pleaded.

"I can't." she answered brokenly and tried to walk past him but he caught her arm and forced her to look at him.

"Don't do this to me." he begged.

"You did this to yourself." she said sadly.

Koga felt all hope leave him as his heart broke into a million pieces.

"We weren't important enough to you for you to make the effort. And I'm tired of making our children suffer for it." she said and pulled her arm free, pushing past him.

Koga could only stand in the doorway.

His heart was dead, frozen.

He couldn't breathe. He couldn't think.

All he knew was that he'd lost his family.

And it was his fault.

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Koga woke up with a start, trembling. He turned and saw the beauty beside him, a soft smile on her face.

He gently brushed his finger tips against her cheek.

She breathed in deeply and snuggled closer to him.

He wrapped his arms around her, breathing in her scent.

"I won't let that happen, Becca." he whispered to her.

"I promise."

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Inuyasha's Dream

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Inuyasha sat next to his wife, holding her to him.

She sat between his legs, her back against his chest and their arms intertwined across her bulging stomach.

They were simply watching the fire dance, feeling it's warmth splash over them.

"I still dont have any name ideas. None of them seem right." he heard her whisper and he smiled, rubbing his hands over her belly.

"Don't stress about it love. We've still got time before we have to worry about names." he whispered back.

She smiled and gave a contented sigh, leaning back into his arms.

Suddenly the fire roared to life, startling them, seconds before their door was blasted open.

Inuyasha instictively covered his wife.

Not that it helped.

Looking up, Inuyasha's golden eyes widened.

"Naraku." he hissed, standing up.

A figure with a black cloak walked in, the shadow of his face lit with a grin.

"Hello Inuyasha. Miss me?" he asked with a sneer.

"Oh, desperately." Inuyasha answered sarcastically.

Naraku chuckled and looked past him, spotting Tara.

"Awww, a new love Inuyasha? She's awfully cute." Naraku grinned. "I'm sure you'd hate to lose her."

"Leave her out of this." Inuyasha growled and snatched up the sword Tetsuiga from the mantel.

"Protective aren't we?" Naraku's eyes gleamed evilly.

Tara glared at him.

"I don't really appreciate having scumbags in my house." She said, keeping her hands protectively over her stomach.

Naraku narrowed his eyes.

"You are with pup." he stated, a grin spreading on his face.

Inuyasha snarled and raised his sword threateningly in front of his wife.

Naraku laughed and rushed at them suddenly.

The whole room went black as midnight and Inuyasha felt a powerful blow throw him into a wall, hitting his head.

His vision blurred and his head was spinning.

He heard Tara's terrified scream and he fought with everything he had to move but he was frozen.

Then her agonized scream filled his head and he became frantic.

"NARAKU!!!" he roared and broke free of the invisible bonds binding him down.

Naraku's triumphant laugh filled the room before it faded away and dissappeared.

Desperate to find Tara, he sniffed around for her scent, but the stench of blood clogged his senses.

He blindly searched for her until he found her in a corner.

"Baby, I'm here. I'm here." he whispered to her soothingly.

She whimpered in pain.

"Inuyasha, the baby." she cried. "He took the baby!"

Inuyasha's heart stopped. He let his hand fall to touch her stomach and felt warm liquid.

His hand was soaked in her blood.

Realization of what Naraku had done hit him and he let out a sob and clung to his wife, his eyes wide in horror.

She was breathing harshly now, fighting to keep life in her.

"I'm sorry." she whispered weakly.

"No, don't be sorry. I..." his voice broke. "God, I'm so sorry Tara!" he wept, holding her head to him.

Then he kissed her deeply, pouring his love for her into one kiss, and she tried to return it with all her strength.

Inuyasha could no longer hear the beat of his pup's heart but he could hear the weak beating of his wife's.

"I love you." he whispered to her.

Tara looked into his eyes, her blue eyes glazed over as death reached for her.

"And I love you. More than anything in the world." she said with a gentle smile, gently running her hand along his cheek.

Then she closed her eyes and laid back in his arms.

The beat of her life faded away and died, and Inuyasha buried his head in her neck, weeping.

The lights in the house came on, but it didn't matter now.

Inuyasha's wife was gone, his child was gone and his enemy had escaped.

His entire world had gone black the moment she had closed her eyes.

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Inuyasha sat straigh up, tears running down his face.

"No." he whispered. He looked beside him and saw Tara.

Sleeping, breathing..._alive._

He gave a choked sob and pulled her to him, waking her up.

"Inuyasha? What's wrong?" she asked, concerened at the way he was holding her.

She wrapped her arms around his back, rubbing gently.

"Inuyasha?" she asked again softly.

He pulled back and kissed her deeply, holding her head as he explored her mouth.

Tara's eyes fluttered and closed as she kissed him back.

After a minute, she pulled away.

"Please tell me what's wrong." she said.

"Just a nightmare." he choked out, his voice raspy.

Tara smiled a little and hugged him, pulling him to lay back down.

She snuggled up to him, a hand on his chest.

"Everything is okay." she told him.

He laid a hand on her stomach, looking her in the eyes.

"I swear to you it will be." he said with a growl.

"Sleep now." she said soothingly, holding him.

He closed his eyes, reassuring himself with the sound of her steady heartbeat.

But it couldn't erase the scent of blood, the look of death in her eyes that had scarred his mind and his heart.

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**A.N.: _...wow that was so depressing to write. I bout cried! And I'm the author! Geez! well I hoped you liked it :D Believe me, this is as sad as it gets. From here on out, it's mostly fluff. YAY fluff! I'll try and update soon as school and computer will allow! Review please!! (Waves to all) I love you!! (throws flowers)  
PS: oh yeah, and btw, Tara is NOT PREGNANT! Inuyasha was just being sweet. Awww...yeah just thought I'd let you know that. _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	11. Romance Comes In Romance

**A.N.:_ Hello everyone! Thank you to all of you who reviewed . totally makes my day! Enjoy! _**

Chapter 11 Romance Comes In Ice-Cream 

Funnily enough, the girls were the ones to wake up first.

Stretching like a cat, Lori accidentily fell out of Sesshomaru's arms and off the bed.

Becca, who was on the other side of the bed, started cackling which woke Tara up.

Tara sat up, saw what Becca was laughing so hard at, and also started giggling.

"You okay there chica?" she asked, a sleepy grin on her face.

Lori's hand waved at them from the floor.

"I'm fine! I think I'll just go back to sleep right herre." they heard her mumble and they laughed.

Becca slid out from under the covers and off the bed, padding her way barefooted to Lori and hauling her up again.

Tara grinned at them and looked at Inuyasha as the other girls wobbled their way into the kitchen.

His face was harshly lined, showing his lack of sleep. A thick strand of black hair fell in his face and she pushed it away, gently brushing her fingers against his cheek.

Golden eyes peeked at her and she smiled.

"Good morning." she said softly.

"Much better than last night." he said and wrapped his arms around her back, pulling her to him and laying his head in the curve of her neck.

Tara ran her hand through his hair, a smile on her face.

"AWWWWW HOW CUUUUUTE!!!" Koga yelled, very loudly, into Tara's ear.

Tara lifted her head and placed her hands tightly on Inuyasha ears.

"BECCA!!! GET YOUR MUTT OUT OF THIS BED BEFORE I NUETER HIM!!!!!!" She screamed.

"Wow I'm hungry!" Koga said, shooting suddenly from the bed and darting for the kitchen.

"Scream at him, I understand, but did you HAVE to disturb me?" Sesshomaru growled, his silver hair sticking up everywhere and hiding his face.

Tara smiled sweetly at him.

"So sorry my lord." she said innocently.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and stuffed his head back under his pillow.

They heard a loud banging followed by a loud "OW!" and howling laughter of two girls.

Tara grinned curiously, kissed Inuyasha's head and slipped from his arms, ignoring his fierce growl.

She crawled off the bed and swung her legs off, straightened her pj pants and top and walked into the kitchen.

Pots were strewed everywhere, along with a brown-haired wolf demon who was clutching his head.

"Pots totally have something against me." he groused from the floor.

The girls crossed their arms.

"Uh hu. So randomly walking up to the pot wrack and saying "hey a pot" and causing them to fall makes them against you?" Becca asked.

"Yep." Koga said, a grin crossing his face.

Tara shoved an ice-cream tub and a giant spoon into his stomach.

"Eat this and stay out of trouble." she said.

"Do you think that's a good idea? It _is _sugar." Lori asked nervously.

"I know, but we'll have to risk it. It's that or listening to him talk, and there's nothing else here until we get groceries."

"They had ice-cream but not simple things like bread?"

"Stupid isn't it?"

"Heeeyyy...This stuff is GOOD!" Koga cried, jumping up and holding the ice-cream tub up like the Statue of Liberty.

"Oh dear lord, what have I done?" Tara muttered, burrying her face in her hands.

"Probably assured the destruction of humanity." Sesshomaru said smoothly as he walked in the kitchen.

He walked straight to Lori, wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss.

"Good morning." He said with a smirk to her.

"Um..good morning." Lori said breathlessly.

Becca and Tara pouted.

"Figures. You're guy is worshipping ice-cream and mine is a sleepy grouch." Tara sighed. Becca patted her back sadly.

"I know hun. Maybe someday we'll get lucky." she said.

"Hey!" Koga pouted. "I can be romantic like Fluffy over there." he said.

"Oh yeah? Prove it!" Becca said, lifting her chin.

Koga cleared his throat and got down on one knee.

Tara and Lori gasped. Becca was speechless.

"Becca, I love you, and you are the only person I would ask this to." he started, holding her hand.

Becca's eyes widened even more.

"Would you like some of my ice-cream?" he asked, holding up the tub to her with a huge smile.

Tara and Lori burst into laughter, leaning on each other for support as they cackled.

Becca smacked him upside the head.

"You big jerk!" she cried.

"I was being romantic!" he said looking dumbfounded.

"Unlike men Koga, the way to a girls heart is not through her stomach." Tara said as she hopped up to sit on the counter.

"Could've told me that earlier you know." he said.

Tara giggled and shrugged.

Sesshomaru grabbed Koga by the ear and pulled him over to him, oblivious to his "owowowowowowowowowowowowowwwww"s. He whispered something into his ear that the girls couldn't hear.

Koga's eyes brightened and he nodded excitedly.

Then he leaned up and whispered something to Sesshomaru, who nodded solemnly.

"Woohoo!" Koga cried, taking another mouthful of ice-cream, so the cheer was rather muffled.

Everyone got quiet as a fully dressed Inuyasha walked into the kitchen.

Tara looked at him from the counter and smiled brightly.

"Hi!" she said cheerfully.

He walked over to her and whispered in her ear.

Tara squealed and jumped down, running back to the bedroom.

"Okay, enough whispering! What did you say to her?" Becca demanded.

Inuyasha grinned mischieviously.

"Wouldn't you love to know?" he asked.

"Ugh! MEN!" Becca cried, throwing her hands in the air.

A beaming Tara rushed back into the room, wearing a pink t-shirt with a penguin on it, a knee-lenth jean skirt and silver hooker boots that hugged her calves.

She grabbed Inuyasha's hand and dragged him from the kitchen, a grin spreading on his face.

He gave a wink to Sesshomaru and Koga before he and Tara dissappeared.

Just before she ran out the door, Tara called out, "We're going shopping!"

The cabin was silent for a minute.

"Hmm..shopping...sounds like a good idea. Let's go Lori." Sesshomaru said, also grabbing Lori's hand and pulling her out of the kitchen.

"Shopping? Really? Us? You mean it? Oh my gosh! Yay!" she stammered before she squealed happily.

Another door slam and all was quiet.

Koga turned and looked at Becca.

"Wanna go?" he asked.

"Duh!" She answered with a smile and moved to walk out.

Koga grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand in front of him.

"I'm sorry for this morning. I was just --" he was cut off as Becca pressed her lips to his, silencing him.

She pulled away after a minute.

"Don't be sorry. I shouldn't have freaked out like I did." she said, starting to move away, but Koga obviously wasn't ready to end the kiss and pulled her back to him, softly brushing his tongue against her lips.

She sighed into the kiss, giving Koga entrance which he quickly took advantage of.

The kiss was slow, loving, and in a lot of ways, comforting. Neither of them had ever felt something like this.

They pulled away for air, but Koga kept their bodies close to each other.

"If I can't be sorry, then neither can you. You've done nothing." he said softly. Then a smile broke through.

'Let's go buy stuff!" he said with a chuckle.

Becca squealed and grabbed the keys to lock the cabin and they took off.

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They ran from shop to shop, buying little things like soap and socks.

They walked into a little antique shop and Becca grinned and started poking at stuff.

"Hey Becca" Koga asked.

"Yeah?" she answered, picking up a copper cup that was covered in rust. It looked very old.

"I saw a men's clothing store across the street."

"That's nice dear." she said, now twirling a lace umbrella.

"Would you mind if I looked around in there while you're in here?"

Becca looked up.

"Uh, yeah okay." she said.

Koga kissed her cheek.

"Thanks, be back soon." he said before dashing out the door.

Becca stared after him.

"So much for shopping together." she said sadly, putting the umbrella back on it's stand.

"Men troubles dear?" a woman asked.

Her hair was a dark grey that shined almost like silver and she was clothed in emerald green that made her bright green eyes stand out.

"Not really...at least, I hope not." Becca said.

The lady nodded with a smile. Becca couldn't help but smile back. The woman was kind looking and had a strange, peaceful presence that calmed her.

"Just remember dear, men do try their best to make us happy. They just don't always know how. So be patient." she said with a motherly smile before turning and walking gracefully out of the shop.

Becca watched her dissappear out the door and down the street.

"That was weird." she said to herself.

Just then, Koga ran in, breathless and panting.

Becca raised an eyebrow.

"Had to...run...across the street." he panted out.

"Such a terribly long way for a demon." she said.

Koga coughed nervously and chuckled.

Becca smiled and took his hand, pulling him out of the store. He seemed shocked, but relaxed and grinned as he was dragged down the street.

Becca quickly spotted a Gazeebo and squealed. She turned to tell Koga about it, but screamed instead and he picked her up and ran her to it.

When he sat her down, they noticed that the Gazeebo rotated slowly, romantically.

Becca sighed happily and leaned against Koga. The Lady had been right.

For a while they just stood in each others arms.

"Hey Becca?"

"Yes?"

"You hungry?"

"A little bit."

"Let's go get some ice-cream!" he said.

Becca burst into laughter, clutching her stomach as she cackled.

"What? Don't you like ice-cream?" he asked.

Becca laughed even harder.

They left the park to go get Koga some ice-cream (which he thoroughly enjoyed), then resumed shopping.

Koga continued to leave her in the shops to go to other stores, but Becca wasn't bothered by it.

By now night had fallen and the town street was lit with old-style lanterns that made the whole town shine.

They entered another men's clothing store and Becca looked at Koga.

"You can't tell me there another guys store across the street because we're _in _one." she said, crossing her arms.

Koga fidgeted.

"I know that. I hadn't intended on leaving." he said defensively, walking over to a hat wrack and picking up a black cowboy hat.

He turned and put it on Becca's head, chuckling at the sight.

She looked in the mirror and giggled.

"One cowboy hat for the lovely lady please!" Koga called to the cashier who smiled and nodded.

Koga paid for the hat and took Becca's hand, pulling her from the store.

They were laughing and playing, and getting a lot of attention. But it didn't matter.

The only people they could see were each other.

Koga walked behind her and put his hands over Becca's eye. She touched his hands, giggling.

"What _are _you doing?" she asked

"Let me show you. Trust me." he whispered in her ear, making her shiver as she felt his breath on her neck.

"Okay." she whispered back.

He removed his hands, telling her to keep her eyes closed, which she did.

Following him blidnly, she was led only by his hands and his voice.

"We're almost there." he said, excitement in his voice.

When they stopped, Becca heard rustling of leaves, and somewhere near by was running water.

"Okay. Open your eyes." Koga said from behind her.

She opened her eyes and gasped.

They were under an enormous willow tree with branches that brushed the ground, shielding them from the outside world.

On the ground, next to the trunk were several candles circling around a blanket.

On the blanket was a basket with two spoons on top of the closed lid.

"Oh...Koga." she whispered in awe of the beautiful scene.

She fell to her knees, tears running down her cheeks.

"No, no, no, no, no! Don't cry baby. Is it that bad? Do you not like it?" Koga asked, getting faster and more upset by the second.

Becca grabbed his hair and pulled him down, pressing her lips to his to quiet him for the second time that day.

"Don't you ever shut up?" she asked fondly. "It's beautiful, I love it. It's just..."

"Just what?" Koga asked.

"No ones ever done anything like this for me before." she said, tearing up again.

Koga grinned proudly.

"So you like it?" he asked, a goofy smile coming on his face.

"I love it." she said again, hugging him.

He held her tight to him.

"Becca?"

"Mmhm?"

"Promise me you won't leave me." his voice was soft, pleading.

Becca pulled away in shock.

"What?" she asked incredilously. "Why on earth would I leave you?"

"Please promise me." he begged, holding her hands.

Becca's eyes were firm as she looked at him.

"I promise I will never leave you.

"Even if I didn't spend as much time with you as I should?"

"Koga, where is this coming from?" she asked. "You've done nothing wrong!"

"But I might someday!" Koga said.

"And if you do I will tell you and we'll fix it. But I would never leave you." Becca said, touching his face.

Koga sighed in relief and embraced her.

"Have I told you that I love you?" he asked.

Becca looked at him.

"No I don't believe you have."

"Okay. I love you!" he said cheerfully.

"Wow. That's amazing. I love you too!" Becca cried.

"Woohoo!" Koga yelled and picked her up, spinning her around.

When they stopped spinning, they just stood together, foreheads pressed together.

Becca's arms were around Koga's neck and his circled her waist.

"Thank you so much." she told him.

"No. Thank you." he replied.

"Now we have to eat."

"Have to?"

"Yeah! Else it'll melt!"

"...Melt?"

"Yep."

"You bought more ice-cream??"

"Strawberry and chocolate!" Koga said happily, holding up a spoon with an innocent smile.

Becca laughed and sat down beside him.

"Thanks." she said and kissed his cheek.

"Where did you get all this stuff anyway?" she asked, taking a bite of the ice-cream.

"Sesshomaru gave me money before we left and I went around town buying this stuff while you were shopping." he said.

"Oh, I see. That makes sense then." She giggled.

Suddenly they were completely blinded as every single object in the forest turned white, elluminating _everything_.

"What is it?" Becca cried, the light blinding her. "I don't know, but something doesn't feel right." Koga growled, pulling her to him protectively.

Suddenly a high pitched scream echoed through the entire mountain.

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**A.N.:_ Oh noooo what is that? Oh my gosh it's a cliffy!! MWAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!! Okay so it's a snow day today (like three feet deep and still snowing) so I'm going to post this, leave all of you ripping your hair out so you REVIEW, and go build snowmen and freeze my butt off!! Sound like a plan?? WOOT!! Later guys! Review please!! Snow-Cream to all who review! hehehe _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	12. Trust In Love

**A.N.:_ Thank you so much reviewers! Gosh you guys made me so happy! I had so much fun writing these chapters. Read and Review! I adore you guys! sniffles  
Oh and I know the guys are ooc a lot of the time. I'm trying my hardest to keep them in character, but it's getting more and more difficult. But anyways. This chapter starts off when Lori and Sesshomaru left after Tara and Inuyasha. Enjoy! _**

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Chapter 12 Trust In Love

As soon as they were out the door, Lori started laughing.

"So are we really going shopping?" Lori asked Sesshomaru.

"If you would like to go then we will." Sesshomaru answered calmly.

Lori squealed excitedly.

"Do you mind walking to the town?" he asked her.

"No, I'd love to!"

"Alright then."

They started down the dirt road, Lori pointing out pretty flowers and trees, strange looking bushes or cute animals the whole way to town.

Sesshomaru walked with his hands in his pockets, smiling softly as he watched Lori enjoy herself.

He noticed a strange but beautiful blue flower near him and picked it.

"Lori, come here." he asked.

"Yes?" she smiled, her eyes lit with excitement.

He tucked her hair back with one hand and place the flower in it.

She reached up and brushed her fingers across it, smiling brightly.

He smiled back slightly and continued walking.

He felt Lori's hand slip into his and he intertwined his clawed fingers with hers.

It wasn't much father to the town, already they were seeing people run around, kids playing with noisy toys, dogs barking.

How these people could stand the noise was beyond him.

"Oh Sesshomaru! Look!" Lori cried, distress in her voice.

Sesshomaru snapped his gold eyes to where she was pointing.

About twenty feet away was a man whipping a horse. The air was cracking with the evil snap of the whip and the scream of the frightened horse.

Sesshomaru could tell by his face and his form that this was far from training. Taking one look at Lori's face, he dropped her hand and walked up tp the man.

The man lifted the whip again, an evil leer on his face, prepared to snap it on the animal again.

Sesshomaru caught his arm, and in one swift movement, had twisted his arm around the other man's and ripped the whip out of his grasp.

The man looked frightened by him and took several steps back.

"Who do you think you are attacking me?" the man cried.

Sesshomaru sneered.

"If you only knew." he said softly. "I'm taking this horse" he said firmly.

"What? No you ain't, this is my horse!" the man yelled, his face getting redder by the second.

"Not any more." Sesshomaru glared. "You lost your right to that horse when you decided to beat it."

"Well he don't cooperate like he should. I'm teaching him a lesson!" the man defended.

Sesshomaru's golden eyes flashed, startling the man.

"You touch that animal again and I'll be the one teaching _you _a lesson. Am I clear?" he said, his voice cold as ice.

The man looked about to protest, but took another look at Sesshomaru and took tail and ran.

Sesshomaru grinned and called after him.

"Wonderful doing business with you!" he called cheerfully.

Sesshomaru walked up to the frightened horse, looking at him for the first time.

He was beautiful. A full-bred stallion and solid black.

Sesshomaru raised his hands, whispering soothingly to him as he approached.

Lori watched with her hands at her mouth, her eyes wide.

"Be careful Sesshomaru." she whispered.

"It's alright. Shhhh." He whispered to the horse, taking the reigns slowly.

The horse was quiet now, the scared look in it's eyes leaving.

There was no longer fear in the creatures eyes, and when Sesshomaru raised his hand slowly, the stallion pushed his nose into it, nuzzling his hand.

"Awwwwwww!" Lori said softly, still afraid of spooking the giant horse.

'You can come pet him now Lori. He won't harm you." Sesshomaru said.

"Yay!" Lori cried but still walked slowly up to the animal, petting his head.

"He's so beautiful!" she said, running her hand along his back.

"Can we ride him?" she asked, turning to him.

Sesshomaru nodded.

"I'll help you on first." he said, and Lori squealed and ran over to him.

He put his hands firmly on her waist, making her blush a little, before hoisting her up easily into the saddle.

Then he climbed up in front of her and took the reigns.

"Hold onto me." he said, Lori's arms wrapping around his middle, pulling her body closer to his.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Totally!" he heard her say.

He could feel her arms tighten, could feel the heat of her body.

It was making it a little difficult for the Lord of the Western Lands to think.

"HYAH! He cried, digging his heels in the stallions flanks.

The horse jumped and shot out onto the untraveled path with amazing speed

Sesshomaru heard Lori scream and felt her glue herself to his back.

He grinned a little. The wind whipped at his face and he could feel the horses excitement at running.

"Sesshomaru?" Lori called over the roar of the wind.

He slowed the horse to a trot.

"Yes?"

"Um...could I drive?"

Sesshomaru turned and looked at her.

"Do you think you can?"

"Yup."

"Alright."

He jumped off the horse and let her scoot forward.

When she was comfortable, he climbed up behind her.

Smirking to himself, he placed his hands softly on Lori's hips and he could tell without seeing that she was blushing furiously.

"Do you trust me?" she asked, her voice a little shaky.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened, visions of holding his dying wife and pup, seeing her pain flashing before his eyes.

He closed his eyes and blocked them out, but he couldn't stop the echo of and older Lori's voice.

"You trusted yourself, but never me."

He leaned closer to her, his grip on her hips tightening as he put his lips close to her ear.

"With my life." he whispered.

Lori shivered and snapped her feet, spurring the stallion into another burst of speed.

The thrill of the sounds, of the sights, of the feelings welled up in them, filling them to the brink with this unimaginable bliss.

The trees whisked by them as they practically flew across the ground.

Suddenly Lori slowed the stallion. She looked back and Sesshomaru, her cheeks flushed with andrenaline and a wide smile on her face.

"I want to show you something." she said and jumped off the horse.

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow and got off as well, pulling the horses reigns to tie him to a nearby tree.

Lori smiled and took his hand, pulling him off the path and into the trees.

Sesshomaru just so happened to get a branch snapped in his face, causing him to sputter and give an odd yelping sound.

Lori looked at him concernedly.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"...Of course! Takes more than a branch to take me down." he scoffed.

Lori's face contored as she tried to hide a grin. Then she turned and walked towards the base of a very high cliff.

Sesshomaru grinned as he watched her start to climb up it.

Then he caught himself and his eyes widened.

'Good Lord, what's wrong with me?' he thought silently. Shaking his head he jumped gracefully up to where Lori was attempting to reach.

Lori looked at him with a glare.

"Yeah, rub the whole "I'm a demon" in my face why don't you?" she asked teasingly.

"Okay I will!" Sesshomaru said back, and flipped his long silver hair.

Lori burst into laughter and as she lifted a foot to take another step, she lost her footing and fell straight down the cliff.

"LORI!" Sesshomaru yelled and jumped down after her.

She hit the ground before he could reach her and lay crumpled at the base of the cliff.

Her eyes were closed.

He hit the floor beside her and was instantly by her side.

"Lori! Lori, open your eyes!" He said firmly, pulling her up into a sitting position.

She blinked her eyes and looked up at him.

"I'm okay. Just a little scratched up." she said, checking herself over.

Sesshomaru let out the breath he was holding, closing his eyes.

"What, you were worried about me?" Lori asked him with a teasing tone.

He looked sharply up at her.

"Of course I was worried about you! I don't know what I would do if you got hurt!" He said angrily, before realizing what he'd just said.

Lori's eyes were huge, and a grin was quickly spreading on her face.

Sesshomaru coughed, embarassed.

"Let's um...get back to hiking." he said and stood up, offering her his hand.

Lori looked at his hand, then him and smiled, taking his hand and pulling herself up.

"Come on, I still want to show you!" she said.

"Show me what?" he asked.

"You'll see!" she said. She started to hike up the hill again but Sesshomaru scooped her up in his arms.

"There's no way we're doing that again." he said firmly.

Lori giggled as they flew through the air.

They landed on the top, and he noticed that strangely, it was all level ground here.

The trees were everywhere, as big as buildings.

The fragrance of the entire wood was relaxing, sweet. Lori took in a deep breath and smiled at Sesshomaru.

"Is this what you wished to show me?" He asked softly.

"Almost. We aren't there yet." she said. She started to move forward but paused.

"You have to close your eyes." she said.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes.

"What if you lead us off a cliff?" he asked.

Lori rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going to kill us you dork. Come on please?" she begged.

Sesshomaru crossed his arms, making Lori throw hers up in the air.

"Geez, don't you trust me at all?" she demanded.

Sesshomaru's arms went lax and he saw his dream go by his eyes again.

He sighed and let his arms fall.

"Alright." he said, closing his eyes.

Lori giggled happily and took his hands in hers, pulling him after her.

"We're almost there." he heard her say, and he focused soley on her voice, her touch, and the scent of the forest.

He felt light hit his closed eye lids and felt Lori stop.

"Okay, open your eyes." she said.

He opened his eyes and stared.

The picture before him was stunning. They were at a lower peak of the mountain, and he could easily see miles of trees.

The sun was setting into the horizon, splashing the clouds and trees with an orange fire.

And there, eluminated by it all, was a smiling Lori.

He couldn't get his breath, couldn't think about anything except how beautiful she was.

He moved forward slightly, being very careful of where he walked and pulled her to him.

"Thank you." he whispered.

Lori's eyes brightened.

"No problem." she said happily.

She felt all time stop, all the world dissappear as Sesshomaru lowered his lips to hers.

She could feel her heart pumping a thousand miles an hour as he put a hand behind her head, keeping her in place.

Her eyes fluttered shut in bliss and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling them a little closer together.

He was slow, gentle, loving. Lori couldn't breath, could hardly form a solid thought.

All she knew was how she never wanted to leave his arms.

Little did she know how much Sesshomaru shared her feelings. How right she seemed to fit in his arms, against his body.

How perfect it seemed to be like this, sharing this moment at the top of a mountain as the sun bathed them in it's fire.

Then suddenly a light whiter than snow burst from somewhere lower on the mountain, completely blinding them.

Lori and Sesshomaru pulled apart in shock, trying to see past the light.

Before either could move, a shrill and terrified scream filled the air around them and echoed through the mountain.

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**A.N.: _...MWAHAHAHA omg this is so much fun. I will tell you all that this little cliffy will be solved in the next chapter, I PROMISE! grins big Okay well, I haven't written out the 13th chapter yet, so if you guys want a fast update, please review!! gives candy to everyone I love you guys! _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	13. A Light In the Dark

**A.N.:_ Lol thank you guys for your reviews! I've gotten so many fabulous ideas from all of you! The cliffy from 11 and 12 is revealed in this chappie:D Enjoy! _**

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_**Chapter 13: Light In the Dark**_

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Tara and Inuyasha got out the door both grinning. Tara looked at Inuyasha.

"Why _did _you want to go shopping?" she asked curiously.

"Well you know, a guy can never have too many socks." he said innocently.

Tara laughed.

"Oh I see. Okay then, let's go buy some socks!" she said.

As they walked down the path, Inuyasha kept his eyes on her. He watched the way the wind moved her hair, the way her blue eyes sparkled.

She was breathtaking.

His brows creased as a vision of her lying lifeless in his arms flashed across his eyes.

The dream had been so vivid, so real.

So horrible.

Could he move on if she was ever killed? Could he ever forgive himself for not being able to save her?

"Inuyasha?"

His eyes snapped into focus. Tara was looking at him with concern.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

Inuyasha forced a smile.

"Yeah."

Tara narrowed her eyes.

"Sure." she said.

"I am!" he replied defensively.

Tara's eyebrow rose.

"Mmmhmm."

"Why don't you believe me?" he demanded.

"Because you have the look like your puppy just died, and you're scowling so much you'd think it was the end of the world." she said simply.

Inuyasha's eyes widened a little. He'd been showing that much emotion?

"It's nothing. Really!" he said as she crossed her arms. "It's just the nightmare I had last night." he muttered.

Tara let her arms fall and she slipped her hand into his.

She gave him a smile and a small squeeze of his hand.

"It's gunna be okay." she said.

Inuyasha gripped her hand, trying his best to believe what she was saying.

He gave her a soft smile.

"Thanks." he said.

A sound caught his ear. The sound of rippling water.

His ears perked up and he grinned slyly, but quickly hid it.

"Hey, let's go this way." he said, pulling her a little towards a path that led into the trees.

"But thats not the way to town." she said.

"I know, but I saw something that I want to show you." He said smiling.

Tara grinned back.

"Okie dokie." she said.

They pulled off the main road and into the trees.

Tara gave a sigh of content as they entered the shade of the woods.

"Feels almost like home." She said, inhaling the scent of trees and earth.

Inuyasha watched her as the peace filled her face and suddenly he was very glad he'd decided to bring her in here.

"So anyway, what did you want to show me?" Tara asked, smiling at him.

Inuyasha had the urge to smirk but he hid it and pulled back some tree branches so she could walk in front of him.

Tara walked forward, smiling at the pretty scene.

A giant oak tree, similar to the one at home in the Glade shaded the grassy green floor around them.

Little pieces of sunlight splashed here and there, falling onto a small, shining lake.

It was probably no bigger than their house in the Glade, but rippled with a crystal-like magic.

"It's so beautiful." She said softly, turning to Inuyasha and smiling.

He returned her smile and walked up to her, his hands sliding around her waist, pulling her close to him.

Tara's breath hitched as she looked up into his eyes.

"Yeah..." he whispered, slowly lowering to her and capturing her lips in his.

Her eyes closed and she wrapped her arms around his neck and up into his black hair.

Inuyasha growled and pulled her closer, exploring her mouth.

Then his eyes opened a little and a smirk crossed his face.

Tara felt it, felt the change in his arms and her eyes snapped open.

Inuyasha grinned wider and before she could react, had picked her up.

She gasped and her eyes widened as she realized what he intended to do, and with a shriek, was thrown into the water.

Inuyasha's laughter filled the woods, positively chortling as a soaking Tara came up to the surface.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled, pure evil in her eyes.

Inuyasha smirked wider and he walked to the edge of the lake, lowering to where he was eye-level with her.

"Yes darling?"

"Do you know how much you're in for it?"

He snorted.

"Yeah, and you're going to give it to me I suppose?"

Tara grinned.

"Oh yes." she said, her wet arms reaching up to pull him to her.

She brushed her lips against his, barely even touching. She felt him sigh.

Grinning wide, she suddenly grabbed his lax arms and jerked him into the water, making sure she went under before he could knock into her.

She popped her eyes above the water, a grin making her eyes sparkle.

A scowling Inuyasha glared at her, his black hair sticking to his face.

"That was so unfair." he growled.

Tara pulled completely up and laughed.

"Right, and what you did was? I don't think so." she said, swimming to him.

"All is fair in love and war." she whispered as she swam around on her back. "Besides, you're already in the water so you might as well enjoy yourself."

"Well...alright." he said and suddenly unleashed a wave of splashing on her upturned face.

Tara spluttered and gasped.

"This means war!" she cried, giving him a taste of his own medicine.

The trees echoed with their laughter and the sounds of splashing.

Hours might have passed by, they had no knowledge of anything but that moment.

Completely exhausted, Tara crawled out of the lake to lay on the warm grass. She closed her eyes, breathing in to calm her racing heart.

She felt Inuyasha climb up beside her, and was suddenly hit with water droplets as he shook himself out.

She squealed.

"You're such a dog!" she laughed, laying back down.

Inuyasha grinned innocently and laid down beside her.

They simply layed there for a while, soaking up the sunlight that was pouring through a whole in the canvas of leaves.

Inuyasha felt a small hand slip into his and he silently intertwined her fingers with his.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yes?"

"...What do you think will happen when we go home?"

Inuyasha turned his head.

"Why do you ask?"

Tara looked at him before turning her gaze away.

"I was just wondering." she said softly.

Inuyasha sat up. He touched her cheek gently.

"Come on. Tell me what's bothering you." he said.

Tara sighed and sat up with him.

"Will you three go back to the Fuedal Era, or wherever you guys came from?" she asked, not looking at him.

Inuyasha suddenly understood what was wrong.

He firmly took her chin in his hand.

"You're worried we're going to leave you." It was more of a statement than a question.

"Well you are aren't you?" Tara asked, her eyes shining with unsuccessfully hidden pain.

Inuyasha leaned down and kissed her firmly.

He pulled away, but kept her face in his hand.

"No. I'm not going to leave you." he said.

Tara eyes filled with tears and she choked out a sob before she launched herself into Inuyasha's arms, her arms around his waist as she cried into his chest.

Inuyasha simply held her close and let her cry it out. They were nearly dry by now, but it didn't matter, he could re-dry.

As Tara cried, she felt stupid for breaking down like this, crying all over him.

But being there with him, alone for the first time, having so much fun with him...she didn't want it to end!

And she was terrified that one day he would come and tell her he'd found someone else, that he didn't want to be with her anymore.

But he had just promised her that he wouldn't leave her. Did he mean it? Could he...love her? Was it even possible in this short amount of time?

Her tears subsiding slowly, she inhaled his scent deeply. Musky and warm. She sighed shakily against him.

Lifting up slightly, she wiped at her tear-stained face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to break down on you like that." she said.

Inuyasha lifted his hand to stop hers, and wiped the tears away himself. He smiled at her.

"I'd rather you break down on me instead of some other guy." he said truthfully.

She giggled a little.

Inuyasha stood up and held his hands down to her to help her up. She took his hands and heaved herself off the ground.

Surprisingly, they were completely dry, as if they'd never even been in the water.

"Weird place." Inuyasha said quietly.

"No weirder than the Glade." Tara said with a soft smile.

"What do you think the others are doing?" Inuyasha asked.

"Probably getting into loads of trouble." Tara said with a laugh.

"I wouldn't doubt it, knowing Koga." Inuyasha said with a smirk.

Tara giggled.

"Should we go back?" She asked.

"Yeah I guess." Inuyasha said and they started back towards the path.

When they reached the edge of the clearing, Inuyasha stopped.

Turning around, he scanned the area, his golden eyes snapping.

"What's wrong?" Tara asked, concerned.

"Something feels weird." he said shortly.

Afraid to speak, Tara stayed quiet, her eyes wide.

Inuyasha moved back into the clearing, holding his hand out towards her.

"Come on." he whispered.

Tara obeyed silently, grasping his hand tightly.

They walked quietly together around the lake and around the giant tree.

"Stay here." Inuyasha said softly to her, looking at her.

Tara nodded, a little frightened with how he was acting.

Inuyasha walked forward into the trees, dissappearing from view.

She could hear her own heartbeat drumming in her chest, her blood roaring in her ears.

She didn't know how much time had past since he'd gone into the trees, but with each passing minute that he didn't return, she became more nervous.

"Oh screw this." she growled out and shoved her way through the trees.

Only a few minutes of walking and pushing through branches and she found another clearing where Inuyasha was searching around frantically.

"What's wrong?" she asked, scaring him.

He whirled around.

"I told you to stay there!" he said.

Tara rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"You aren't my father. I got tired of waiting." she said.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to retort, but couldn't think of anything so he closed his mouth and went back to searching.

Tara turned her back to him, looking around this new clearing.

Suddenly a blinding light errupted from..._everywhere_! The light didn't seem to be coming from one specific place, everything simply glowed.

Then a high-pitched scream echoed through the trees and Tara whirled around.

Inuyasha had a hand to his chest and was breathing hard.

"Good lord Inuyasha, try and _act _like a guy!" She cried exasperated.

He glared at her.

"Well you'd be scared too if something randomly popped out at you!" he defended himself, rubbing his chest.

The light had still not faded and Tara was having great difficulty in even seeing her own hand, let alone everything around her.

She felt eyes on her and turned around, squinting to try and see.

The light dimmed a little and she was able to see the figure of someone walking through the parting trees.

"Inuyasha." she whispered.

His ears caught her awed whisper and he followed her scent to stand beside her, seeing the figure.

He instantly took a defensive stance in front of Tara, his nightmare not forgotten.

"Who are you?" he demanded, frightening even Tara with the anger and rage in his voice.

"Fear me not Inuyasha, I mean you nor Tara no harm." came a woman's voice.

Tara put a hand on his shoulder. He got the message and relaxed, but only slightly.

The woman's voice chuckled.

"You chose wisely when you picked your mate Tara. He will protect you unto death." she said and the light dimmed further, showing her a little more.

Though she could not completely make out her face because of the light, the Lady looked to be about mid-thirties, with silver hair that touched her shoulders.

Her eyes were the greenest Tara had ever seen, like new leaves, and were brought out clearly by her equally green outfit.

A dress that touched the grass with a light green sash and sleeves that hung low at the wrists.

She was beautiful, and power radiated from her.

Inuyasha had still not moved from his place in front of Tara.

"What do you want?" he asked, a little more politely.

"To give you and the others a message." She said simply.

"What message?" Tara asked, stepping forward a little.

"You must go home immidiately." The Lady said, her green eyes sad.

"Why?" Tara asked.

"Evil approaches there." she said.

"Then why would we take them back there?" Inuyasha growled.

"Because if this is not dealt with now, it will thrive and destroy the ones you love." the Lady said frankly, knowing Inuyasha would understand the seriousness of the situation.

Inuyasha straightened, standing up beside Tara.

"What evil?" he asked.

"I don't know yet." the woman said sadly. "I just know that I feel it is heading there. Two forces of utmost evil."

Inuyasha sighed.

"Even on vacation I can't get a vacation." he muttered.

The Lady looked directly at Tara, her green eyes piercing.

"Tell the girls and go home as soon as you can. It is crucial that you get there first." she said, a small tinge of fear in her voice.

"Then that's settled. Tara, call yours and Becca's parents and tell them we're going home. I'll get the others and we're out of here." Inuyasha said.

The Lady smiled.

"Thank you." she said simply. The white light grew brighter until Tara could see nothing at all, then suddenly dissappeared.

Spots dotted Tara's vision and she blinked furiously, trying to see.

When she could somewhat see, she looked at Inuyasha.

"I still can't believe you scream like a girl." she said, an evil grin spreading across her face.

"Shut up." Inuyasha said with a pout.

"It's a very cute scream though. Quite lovely." she continued.

"Tara, I'm warning you."

"And after all, if you have to scream like a girl, at least it's good and loud."

"That's it!" Inuyasha cried and pinned her to a tree, silencing her with a kiss.

He pulled away, and rolled his eyes as she grinned at him.

"If that's what I get by picking on you, I'm going to have to pick on you more often." she said smirking.

Inuyasha couldn't help but grin a little.

"Come on, let's go find the others." he said, and Tara was sure she heard him mutter "Brat" under his breath.

She giggled and followed him out of the trees.

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**A.N.: _Hehehe well that was fun. Next chapter the rest of the gang is told of the gang and they all rush home to find whatever evil is there!! What will happen?? Will they survive?? Will Koga eat more icecream??? If you wanna know, click the little purple button and REVIEW!! runs away cackling_**


	14. Growing Darkness

**A.N.: _Thank you guys so much for your great reviews! I love you guys so much! Okay, enjoy the chapter! We're almost done! 0.0_**

Chapter 14: Growing Darkness

The rest of the group was soon contacted and they all met at the cabin.

Both Lori and Becca were shaken from the blinding light and scream, and the guys were very curious about what had happened.

"Alright so what's going on?" Koga asked, standing beside Becca, his hand holding hers.

"We're going back." Inuyasha said flatly.

"Back? Why? We just got here!" Lori protested.

"It doesn't matter, we have to go back to be there in time to beat the evil or we're as good as dead!" Inuyasha yelled, clearly very stressed out.

Tara put a soothing hand on his arm, effectively calming him down. She faced her friends.

"A woman came to us when we were out. She said that she could feel a very powerful evil rushing to our Glade, and if we didn't get there first, we would have no chance of winning." she said calmly.

"Now that someone is making sense, the first thing we have to do is call your parents and tell them we're leaving." Sesshomaru said, taking on the leader role.

The girls nodded and silently slipped away from the boys to the bedroom. 

Each moved around the room in complete silence, all lost in their own thoughts.

"What did the woman look like?" Becca asked.

Tara paused from putting her hair things into the bags.

"She had silver hair, and even though I could see her face, she looked pretty young. She had gorgeous green eyes and wore forest green clothes. The light was coming from her." she said quietly.

"And who was the scream from?" Lori asked.

Tara grinned a little.

"My own brave half-demon." she giggled.

The girls burst into laughter, breaking the tense mood a little.

Then Becca stood up from the bed and pulled the girls together, pulling them into a group hug.

The girls clung to each other, soaking in the comfort of one another.

They didn't know what would be waiting for them in the Glade.

They didn't know what would happen to each other.

They didn't even know if they would survive to see another day.

The guys walked in and saw them.

They shared a glance before walking in and gently pulling them apart, letting them cling to them instead of each other.

"Are we ready?" Sesshomaru asked.

"I think so. Inuyasha called their parents and they know we're going home." Koga said.

"You guys can just leave your bags here, your parents will pick them up later." Inuyasha said to Tara and the girls.

They nodded.

"So how do we get there?" Tara asked.

Inuyasha turned around and squated.

"Climb on." He said.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and he hoisted her up, holding her legs.

Sesshomaru and Koga did likewise and a minute later the six teenagers were flying across the trees and back towards the Glade.

Even with the speed they were going and the ground they were covering, it took them several hours to get back to town.

Weary with stress, the three girls had fallen asleep, resting on the backs of their demons as they flew through the air.

"Almost there." Sesshomaru called to the other two guys.

They nodded, pushing themselves harder, trying desperately to go faster.

They were all three terrified, not for themselves, but for the girls, even though they showed none of this to them.

They were scared enough as it was, without adding the guys's fear.

Each with the weight of the girl they loved on their backs, they also felt the weight of their lives on their shoulders.

The street that led to the girls school was spotted below as they jumped from spot to spot.

Next stop, the Glade.

The guys decided now was as good a time as ever to wake the girls.

They were groggy, but upon remembering everything that had happened, they were instantly awake.

They grew closer and closer to the Glade and everyone's nerves grew more on edge.

They landed on the street and the boys put the girls down slowly.

All three took the girls small hands in theirs and kept them close.

They walked up to the edge of the trees that led off onto the path.

"I never thought I'd ever dread having to go home." Tara whispered.

"Yeah." The girls whispered back.

"Let's go." Sesshomaru growled softly, tightening his grip on Lori's hand.

They all pushed forward onto the path and through the trees.

Winding their way around the trees, under branches, avoiding holes, it was all like second nature to them.

It was so engrained in them. 

The happiness they usually felt when going to their home was miles away, replaced by the fear of the unknown.

They reached the entrance of the Glade and the boys pushed the girls behind them.

The three girls shared a glance and joined hands.

Taking a deep breath, the group pushed through the leaves.

"No one." Sesshomaru said quietly. "We must have beat it here!" Koga said triumphantly.

"No..." Tara whispered.

The guys turned to look at her.

The girls's eyes were wide and alert, their bodies rigid.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha asked.

"Somethings wrong." Becca said.

"There's someone here." Lori added.

"How do you know?" Koga asked nervously.

"The Glade." Tara said, looking around.

Only then did the boys realize what was wrong.

The normally rustling Glade was dead silent.

Not a tree moved, no breeze blew, leaves didn't even twitch.

An aura of darkness was descending on their home.

"Hey Lori! How's my babe?" A voice said from the side.

Everyone whirled around to see Lori's EX-boyfriend, Chris.

"Chris?! What are you doing here?!" Lori cried.

Chris grinned.

"Can't a guy come see his girlfriend?" he asked innocently, taking a step forward.

Sesshomaru was growling furiously as he put himself in front of Lori.

"Not when the girl in question is not his to see." he snarled.

Chris backed away a little, looking slightly frightened by the silver-haired man before him.

Then he tried to cover it up with a sneer.

"And who says she's yours?"

"I do." Sesshomaru said firmly.

"Well I say she's mine!"

"I say both of you shut up!" Tara yelled, stepping in between the rivaling guys.

She looked at Sesshomaru.

"You and I both know Lori is yours. Now calm down and use your common sense before someone gets hurt." she said soothingly to him.

Sesshomaru's eyes cleare and he nodded, pulling Lori tighter to him.

Then she turned to Chris.

"You, on the other hand, have no right whatsoever to be here." she said coldly.

"That's my girl!"

"She ceased being yours when you sold her and us to Leon!" Tara yelled, fists balled at her sides.

"Come on! I had to tell him! He threated to hurt me!" Chris stammered.

Suddenly the clawed hand of Sesshomaru was wrapped around his neck.

"And so, like a coward, you put her in danger instead of facing it yourself!" He said coldly, his golden eyes turning red.

Chris was struggling for air, his face turning purple.

Inuyasha and Koga couldn't find it in them to make Sesshomaru stop. They both felt the same.

He may have been Lori's boyfriend, but his actions had hurt all three girls.

"You are nothing more than a filthy coward that _never_ deserved her." Sesshomaru hissed coldly before he flung the choking teen against the tree, knocking him unconcious.

"You needn't worry with trash like that. He's the least of your problems." a silky voice said from behind them.

"Leon? Oh how ironic." Tara muttered grouchily.

The guys were in front of them faster than Leon could blink.

"Didn't Mark take care of you?" Koga demanded.

Leon grinned.

"Oh yeah, he did. And then I "took care" of him." he laughed.

The girls could feel their blood boiling in their veins.

"You horrid monster." Becca whispered.

"So you three have called me before." he sneered. Then he leered at Tara.

"Because of these losers, I lost what I had. But I'm going to get what's mine this time." he said.

Inuyasha's eyes began to glow red.

"You...will...not...TOUCH HER!" he roared and lunged at Leon, sending both of them reeling in the grassy floor.

Koga and Sesshomaru gave each other a look before they dove in as well, joining in the fight.

The four guys rolled around, punching, kicking, pulling, poking, yelling...typical guy stuff.

Tara felt a sudden absence and turned around to look at her friends.

They weren't there.

Turning around completely, she saw in horror that her best friends were being held by two...tenticles?

It was like a black wall had formed, a dark, empty shadow, from which two arm-like tenticles held her friends above the ground.

Their eyes were glazed over and empty, like a dolls.

Identical gashes on their chests that were oozing green puss.

Tara tried to scream for the guys but another tenticle shot out from the shadows and covered her mouth before wrapping itself completely around her.

Then, when it had a firm grip that she could not escape from, it jerked her into the darkness.

The four guys still rolled and tussled, oblivious to the danger the girls and they themselves were in.

"Inuyasha, Koga, Sesshomaru..." a dark voice drawled out.

All four boys stopped and looked towards the voice.

The three demons stood, roughly shoving Leon to the ground, and Inuyasha aiming a real nice kick to his chest.

"Hey...boss. I didn't...think you'd show..." Leon wheezed, breathless and sore.

"Shut up. Don't think yourself special because I allowed you to live." the voice snapped.

Leon looked a little unsure of himself, his arms around his bruised chest.

"Show yourself!" Koga yelled.

"You mean don't know who I am wolf?" the voice asked. They head it laugh and watched horror as Becca and Lori walked forward from the darkness.

Their eyes were completely lifeless, their faces emotionless.

"He's controlling them." Sesshomaru whispered.

"Correct Lord Sesshomaru, I am controlling them." The voice said cheerfully.

Suddenly Becca and Lori lunged at Koga and Sesshomaru, both of whom lept away.

All over the Glade, the girls chased them, trying to get close enough to hit them.

Leon was looking more fearful by the minute, watching as the girls attacked the demons.

"Becca wake up!" Koga cried, dodging a well aimed punch. "Snap out of it!"

Sesshomaru was having no trouble dodging Lori, who was attacking him from every angle, her face blank.

He ducked under her and caught her wrists.

"Fight him Lori! Fight him!" he yelled, watching Lori try to pull away.

He could tell she was in pain, struggling against whoeve held her under his control.

She gave a scream and fell limp into Sesshomaru's arms, unconcious.

He held her gently and looked up to see Koga holding an unconcious Becca, crying softly.

The two girls wounds were weeping blood now, and their skin was quickly paling.

Sesshomaru looked up at Inuyasha.

He still stood where he'd been when the girls attacked them.

He was staring into the wall of darkness, his hands clenched into fists.

"You hear that? They broke through your spell!" He yelled into the black wall.

"It doesn't matter to me." the voice said, sounding more serious now. "The poisin in them won't kill them, but they will soon lose their minds."

Sesshomaru and Koga tightened their grip on their girls.

"Besides. They aren't the ones I came to kill." he said.

"Where is she?" Inuyasha roared into the wall.

"Right here Inuyasha." The voice said.

Then two figures stepped out into the dimming light of the Glade.

One figure, was Tara.

She was bleeding from her cheek and arms, but she was alive and her eyes were clear and frightened.

A pale, slim hand was over her mouth, keeping her quiet, and stepping out fully, they saw it was none other than Naraku.

He smirked widely at Inuyasha and the others.

"Miss me?" 

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**A.N.:_Yes I know, another cliffy, but it's at a point where I couldn't really do anything else BUT leave you a cliffy. Sorry bout the wait, I'll have ch 15 up as soon as I can. REVIEW PLEASE!!!!!_**

EyesofOceanFlame


	15. Battle of Dreams

**A.N.:_ Yay chapter fifteen!! woot woot! hehehe I hope you enjoy this, I had a blast writing it. Very dark, very sad, but very cool. Okay, I'll shut up so you can read :) REVIEW PLEASE!! _**

Chapter 15: Battle of Dreams 

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Then two figures stepped out into the dimming light of the Glade.

One figure, was Tara.

She was bleeding from her cheek and arms, but she was alive and her eyes were clear and frightened.

_A pale, slim hand was over her mouth, keeping her quiet, and stepping out fully, they saw it was none other than Naraku. _

He smirked widely at Inuyasha and the others.

"Miss me?"

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Inuyasha's eyes were snapping, his hands balled at his sides.

Leon stood slightly to the side, looking very nervous.

"Remember your promise boss? Don't forget it." Leon stammered out.

"Shut up. I'll do as I see fit." Naraku said.

He still had his hand over Tara's mouth, the other on her upper arm, keeping her still.

Her eyes were wide and terrified.

She knew who this was, and she knew what he was capable of.

"Let her go." Inuyasha said, and they could all see little droplets of blood dripping from his hands where his claws had pierced the skin.

"Or what Inuyasha? You're nothing but a half-demon! How will _you _stop me?" Naraku laughed.

"He's not alone." Sesshomaru said, gently laying Lori down and stepping beside his brother.

"He's got us as well." Koga added, stepping to his other side.

"Awww...isn't that touching." Naraky sneered. "Three little demons fighting for a few..." he grinned. "Humans."

"Humans that are more powerful than you any day!" Koga cried angrily.

"Oh? Which is why I have two of them on the verge of insanity, and one in my arms right?" Then he smiled.

"Oh yes, that makes you angry doesn't it Inuyasha? Your girl in anothers arms?" Naraku hissed, his hand sliding down her body and across her chest.

Tara cringed, tears prickling her eyes, but she didn't move.

"Does it make you mad Inuyasha?" Naraku asked again.

He lowered his thin and cold lips to Tara's neck, smirking at Inuyasha as he did so.

Inuyasha's eyes flickered red.

"Hmm...what would make you more angry? This?" He ran his hand down her stomach.

"Or ths?" he asked sharply, and suddenly his nails lengthened into deadly claws.

With a smirk, he snapped them across her stomach, ripping her open.

She screamed in terrible agony, falling limply to the ground.

Her blood flowed out around her until she was lying in a pool of her own blood.

"NO!!!" Two voices yelled at once.

Inuyasha saw flashes of the nightmare, could smell her blood.

He could smell death.

Suddenly his eyes bled red and he lunged for Naraku, not even noticing that both Sesshomaru and Koga, as well as _Leon _did the same_. _

They all landed in a heap inside the darkness.

Naraku had vanished.

There was a cry of anger, a flash of a green whip, a shout, and a roar of unimaginable fury.

"Come out you coward!" Inuyasha screamed, his voice deep, rouch and filled with rage.

Naraku's laughter echoed in their ears.

"You think you can stop me mutt? I've made your worst nightmare come true! Your true love is dying, just as you saw in your dream. You knew this would happen." Naraku's voice softened, teasing him.

"You knew it would happen, and still you let her die!"

Inuyasha gave an agonized cry and fell to his knees, his face in his hands.

His eyes shone gold again, as tears ran down his face.

Naraku laughed louder, his voice full of triumph as a pitch black veil covered the entire Glade.

There was no light whatsoever, you couldn't even see your own hand.

Sesshomaru and Koga smelled their way quickly to Lori and Becca, while Inuyasha crawled to a bleeding Tara.

He lifted her very gently, pulling her into his arms.

He laid his head in her neck, and fought back the tears that were threatening to come.

He could feel her heartbeat fading...just like in the nightmare.

"I'm so sorry." he choked. "God, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay Inuyasha." She said weakly, lifting her hand to brush his face.

"It doesn't hurt that bad anymore." she tried to smile, but it turned into a whimper when another flash of pain hit her.

"I love you Inuyasha. I knew you were meant to find us." she said softly.

The darkness was growing thicker, choking everything alive.

"I love you too. I'm so-" he was cut off by her lips.

He closed his eyes as tears began to fall, his arms holding her tightly while gently.

His lips moved against hers, desperately trying to show her what she meant to him.

"I forgive you." she whispered against his mouth.

Then her eyes closed and she leaned gently against him.

He heard the beat of her heart slow, fading softly before it stopped completely.

"She's gone." Inuyasha said hoarsely.

"NO! Naraku!! This is not what you promised me!" Leon screamed somewhere in the darkness.

For once, he sounded as if he cared.

"You promised you'd give her to me! You promised she'd be alive!"

"I promised you nothing but what you deserved." Naraku's cold voice answered, no pity or regret in his tone.

"And I deserve her! I fought for her!" Leon sounded like he was in tears.

"Do you want your reward now?" Naraku's voice snapped.

"Yes! Give her back to me!"

"Fine. Enjoy your gift!" Naraku's voice hissed.

Then, from the darkness around them, Leon's shrill scream was heard, followed by a gurgling sound, and then silence.

The three friends held the girls they loved against their chests.

They had failed them.

Whether dead or insane, the girls were gone.

And it was killing them inside.

"Do you feel pain my demons? Does your heart hurt?" Naraku's voice was everywhere, all around them in the darkness.

The guys couldn't even react.

They had no more will left.

"HA! You can't even fight back! I've beaten three demons without even touching you. _I _am triumphant!" He shrieked.

"Do not be so foolish Naraku." a woman's voice said.

From within the triangle the six teenagers had unknowingly formed, a soft light began to shine, like a single candle in a dark room.

"And who are you?" Naraku asked, not sounding the least bit frightened.

"Don't you know what happens when you mess with child?" the woman's voice was icy.

"Yeah? What?" Naraku's voice echoed around them again.

"You mess with their mother." the woman said.

"What on earth are you talking about?" Naraku demanded.

The small light flickered a few times before going out.

Naraku snickered.

Suddenly the light burst back to life, blinding them all as it chased away the retreating darkness.

Naraku cried out in pain, his cry resounding in their ears.

Shielding their eyes, the guys looked at the center of the light.

A woman with shoulder-length silver hair, clothed in shining green stood with her arms outstretched.

Her green eyes were snapping in fury, the light pulsating from her.

"You harmed my children, and now you will pay for it!" She cried, throwing her hands forward, palm out.

Naraku screamed, half in anger, half in unbelievable pain.

Inuyasha could now see the entire Glade, everything eluminated in the shining light.

He could see Leon, who lay very much dead on the ground about fifteen feet away with a gaping hole in his chest.

Suddenly Koga, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha felt joined with the woman, feeling her pain, her anger, and her awesome power.

"Take your evil..." She said.

"Leave us be." Koga said monotonely.

"Never return." Sesshomaru said.

"Go back to the hell you came from." Inuyasha growled.

"AND DIE!" The four of them screamed.

The power surged from them, like an enormous shock wave, shaking everything in it's path.

Naraku gave a roar of pain, and then the darkness dissappeared, taking Leon with it.

And with a loud thunderclap, Naraku vanished forever.

The woman's eyes softened from anger to heartbroken sadness, and she motioned for the boys to approach.

Holding the girls gently, the three boys gathered near her.

She kneeled before them, her green layers flaring out and making her look like a silver-headed flower.

She brushed her hands against the girls heads.

"I'm so sorry girls." she said sadly, then she looked up at the three guys.

"I am also sorry to you. _You _did not fail them..._I _did." she said, crystal-like tears beginning to fall.

Koga lifted his hand and touched hers.

She looked at him and smiled.

"I knew when I let the three of you enter the Glade that you would be good for them. And I was right." she said, looking each of them in the eyes.

Then she turned her gaze to the unmoving girls.

She could see all three of them asking her a silent question.

"Becca and Lori are in a coma-like state." she said, answering Koga and Sesshomaru.

"They may someday awaken from it, but it isn't likely." she said, brushing her fingers across Becca face and pushed a lock of hair away from Lori's cheek with motherly gentleness.

"Tara..." she started to speak, but her voice broke.

"Tara is dead." she said simply.

It was, perhaps, the fact that this powerful, magic being was weeping over the lives of the girls that made the guys realize how real the situation was.

"Can you do nothing?" Sesshomaru asked.

"No...there is nothing I can do." She answered.

Sesshomaru looked at the pale face of Lori, at her closed eyes that would never open again to look at him.

He touched her chilled skin with his hand.

Then, for the first time, Lord Sesshomaru bowed his head and wept.

Koga watched him, knowing his pain.

He cradles Becca to him, as if holding his dearest treasure, tears running silently down his cheeks.

Inuyasha was beyond tears. His pain was deeper than tears could heal.

Careful not to move Tara, he removed the top of his kimono.

He laid it across her stomach, unable to look at the still weeping slashes in her.

Then he leaned his head against hers and closed his eyes.

His worst nightmare, the thing he had feared the most had come true.

He had lost her.

There was a moment of utter silence in the Glade, nothing moving in this heartbroken moment.

"How much do you love them?" they heard the woman ask.

"More than anything." they answered in unison, not even looking up.

"Enough to give something up?"

"I would give my life to have her back." Inuyasha said roughly. "As I know they would for the girls."

"Would you become human for them?" she asked, deadly serious.

The boys were silent for a moment.

They looked at the girls in their arms.

Could they give up their powers?

Their strength?

Their very identity?

They looked up again at the woman, firm determination in their eyes.

"Yes." they said.

"Alright then." The woman said, standing up.

"Can you save them?" Koga asked.

"There might be a chance. My magic alone cannot save them, but perhaps with a big of _your _magic..." she trailed off.

Then she lifted her face and closed her eyes, her hands relaxed at her sides.

The Glade began to move, coming back to life.

The tree branches brushed each other, making their own music.

The non-existant breeze suddenly became a loud roar, circling around them.

The whole Glade was alive with noise, alive with magic.

The three guys looked around them in wonder, holding the girls very close to them.

They felt a soft tingling touch, almost like dust.

They resisted it for a moment, but then thought of the girls and let all struggle go.

The feeling consumed them and they closed their eyes, preparing for what was to come.

They were ready to be human if it meant being with the girls.

They were worth it.

Soon, all of their senses were engulfed in the soft touch of magic.

Then everything stopped, all came to a complete stand still.

The Woman and the three guys opened their eyes and looked only at the girls.

The wind died down, the trees froze, nothing moved.

They all waited with bated breath to see if their magic had worked.

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**A.N.: _AH!! Another cliffy!! oh well, you'll get over it. giggles review pretty please! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter (even though it is kinda morbid) I've got chapter 16 written I just have to type it up, but I want lots of reviews before I post it! Okay?? Okay! throws cookies to everyone Love you guys!! _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	16. Healing of the Wounds

**A.N.:_ MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS!!! I hope you all had a great holiday, and have a wonderful New Years! I hope you can forgive me for it's lateness. Sickness, Holidays, Christmas, you all know why I was busy. Enjoy!! _**

Chapter Sixteen: Healing of the Wounds 

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_They were ready to be human if it meant being with the girls. _

They were worth it.

Soon, all of their senses were engulfed in the soft touch of magic.

Then everything stopped, all came to a complete stand still.

The Woman and the three guys opened their eyes and looked only at the girls.

The wind died down, the trees froze, nothing moved.

They all waited with bated breath to see if their magic had worked.

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Nothing happened.

The girls didn't move.

Inuyasha felt his heart break as his last hope died.

He stood up, his back stiff.

"It didn't work." he said, his voice monotone.

The woman looked up at him, her green eyes peircing.

"You have too little faith." she said.

Inuyasha neither moved, nor spoke.

He turned around and started towards the exit.

He had tried.

He had tried to save her.

But he had failed, she was gone, and she wasn't coming back.

"Sess...Sesshoma...ru..." Lori's voice was heard.

Inuyasha froze, his eyes wide.

"Sesshomaru? I feel really weird..." Lori said.

Inuyasha whirled around, his eyes filling with tears.

Sesshomaru was now holding Lori tight against him, shaking horribly.

"Koga, help me sit up." Becca said softly, her eyes opening slightly to look at Koga.

Koga stared down at her, trembling.

"Koga? Are you going to help me up?" Becca asked.

He started sniffling, then crying, and soon was positively CLINGING to a rather frightened Becca.

"This wasn't what I had in mind, but whatever." she said, patting Koga's back.

Inuyasha looked at the green woman, his eyes filled with the naked desperation that was in his soul.

She was sitting beside Tara's body, the pale girl's head in her lap.

The woman's eyes were full of sadness as she stroked the girl's long, dark hair.

Inuyasha's hands fisted at his sides. "Is this my fault? Is it because I didn't have enough faith?" Inuyasha cried, self-hatred burning in his golden eyes.

The woman looked up at him, but seeing the pain in his eyes, she could not hold the gaze.

"Hold her, Inuyasha." she said quietly.

Inuyasha let out a sob and fell once again to the ground, pulling Tara's limp and unmoving body to his chest.

He cradled her as someone would a child, his head buried in her neck as he rocked back and forth, weeping.

The two newly awakened girls watched him, both crying softly.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

They were all supposed to go off, get married, have kids, be happy.

Not this. Never this.

The Glade rustled, crying it's own bittersweet song for the loss of it's child.

And as once the Glade was full of peace and happiness, now it revolved around the weeping half-demon and dead human girl.

"I failed you again." Inuyasha said softly into Tara's hair, his clawed hand holding her neck gently.

"I had the chance to save you! And I FAILED!" he yelled, his eyes closing tightly.

"Stop screaming in my ear." they heard a voice say.

Everyone gasped, and Inuyasha pulled away.

Staring up at him were two sparkling blue eyes and a tired smile

"Didn't you know yelling is bad for your singing voice?" Tara asked softly.

Inuyasha gave a cry and pulled her back to him.

Becca and Lori squealed and hugged their demons, happier than they had been in a long time.

"How? You were dead!" Inuyasha said, pulling his kimono away from her.

Where before there had been gashes almost completely through her, now was only soft skin.

Her clothes were covered in blood, but there was no sign other than the horrid rips in her shirt, to prove she'd ever been touched.

"Give me a break, their's was easy, all _they_ had to do was open their eyes. Coming back from the dead is _slightly_ more difficult." Tara teased.

"Oh yes, forgive me." he said, smiling.

"I'll think about it." She said, pulling his head down to kiss him soundly.

Becca and Lori awwwwed, then Lori turnd to Sesshomaru.

She lifted her finger and softly touched the tear streaks.

"You were crying?" she asked in surprise.

Sesshomaru coughed and stood up suddenly.

"Of course not. Don't be stupid."

Lori smirked and tried to stand, but her legs were still weak.

She started to fall, but Sesshomaru caught her easily.

"You cried for meeeee." Lori said in a sing-song voice.

"I did not!" Sesshomaru yelled.

"Then why were you crying?"

"I...stepped on a bug."

"You what?"

"Bugs have feelings too you know." The Great Lord Sesshomaru muttered under his breath.

Lori burst into laughter and hugged Sesshomaru tightly.

He relaxed and hugged her back.

"Alright, I _was_ crying for you." he pulled away slightly. "I dont know what I'd do without you Lori." Sesshomaru said softly.

"And I don't know how I'd live without you." Lori answered with a smile.

Sesshomaru looked at her for a moment, simply staring at her.

"Lori?"

"Yes?"

"Would you be my mate?"

Lori gasped.

"Me? A demon's mate?"

"Well, you wouldn't be a demons mate since we aren't demons anymore but - "

"What are you talking about?"

"We decided to be human so you girls could come back." He smiled proudly.

"That's wonderfully romantic and all, but...you're still a demon."

"WHAT?" He and Koga yelled, looking at each other.

"You're still a demon!!" They yelled, pointing at each other.

Then they stared down at themselves.

"I'm still a demon!" they cried.

"Inuyasha! We're still demons!" Koga yelled, his eyes wide.

Inuyasha lifted his head.

"That's great. Now may I go back to kissing my girlfriend?" he asked before capturing her lips again.

"Why are we still demons?" Koga asked the green lady.

She smiled.

"All I needed was the willingness to _sacrifice _your demon bood. I never actually said I would take it." her eyes sparkled.

"You had to be willing to give everything to save them in order for the Glade to do it's magic." she chuckled softly.

"Actually it was very romantic." she said smiling.

"You mean...you let us think...that we...?" Koga spluttered.

"You made us think we'd given up everything, when you could have just told us?!" Sesshomaru said for him, his eyes turning slightly red.

The Green Lady smiled.

"Yes, I could have. But I decided not to." she smiled innocently.

Lori and Becca burst into laughter, clinging to their boys as they cackled.

Koga calmed down enough to kiss Becca to shut her up, which, I'd imagine, she didn't mind in the least.

Sesshomaru looked back at Lori, his eyes clearing as he watched the laughter and joy in her face.

He reached out his hand and touched her face, making her look at him.

"Yes?" Lori asked, still shaking with giggles.

"You never did give me an answer." Sesshomaru said quietly.

Lori smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, her eyes sparkling.

"I would love to be your mate, forever and ever." she said, leaning her head against his.

Sesshomaru let out a sigh before leaning down and kissing her deeply.

Becca and Koga watched them, smiling.

"'Bout time he settled down. I was getting a little tired of the whole "Conquest/Destroy All Life" gig he was on." Koga said with a bored tone.

Becca laughed.

"So what about you?" she asked.

"I dunno. I'll probably explore this world, eat more ice-cream, mate with a pretty girl."

"Oh really? Just who is this pretty girl?" Becca asked coldly.

"Well, I was wondering if you had any plans for the rest of your life." Koga said casually.

Becca gasped.

"You mean...?"

"Yeah, if you'll have me." He said quietly, giving her a soft smile, pulling her to him.

"We'll stay in your world and I'll build you a nice house with a dorky white fence you women seem to love so much." Koga chuckled.

"And kids?" her voice was unbelieving, shocked, and incredibly happy.

"As many as you want."

"Oh Koga!" Becca cried, throwing her arms around him and kissing him soundly.

Inuyasha pulled away from Tara and held her tightly.

"I love you." he said.

"I love you too." She answered breathlessly.

"It looks like all our friends are getting married."

"Yeah looks like it."

"Weird idea."

"Yeah, I kinda like it."

"Hmmm yeah. You wanna?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Great!" Inuyasha cried and they laughed happily together.

They were all broken apart by the woman's voice.

"All is as it should be." she said, her voice echoing in the Glade.

Everyone looked at her.

"You mean he was supposed to propose that crappy?" Becca's voice was heard softly, followed by Lori's snicker.

Tara held in her giggle and looked at the Green Woman.

"Who are you?" Tara asked.

"I am the Glade." she answered, and lightening crackled dramatically behind her, the Glade darkening for a moment.

The six teenagers stared at her, mouths agape, unsure of what to do.

Then the light came back and the Glade Woman laughed happily, and the teens knew that she was the farthest thing from evil there was.

"Wait a second!" Lori cried, running up to her.

"Aren't you the lunchlady?!" She practically screamed, her voice unbelieving.

The Woman smiled.

"Actually, yes. Seeing the three of you only every now and then was making me lonely, so I disguised myself and signed up at the school." She explained.

"No wonder we liked you so much!" Tara and Becca cried together.

The Glade Woman laughed and she extended her arms.

The three girls ran up and hugged her, and the trees rustled with happiness.

"Girls, look." Inuyasha said.

They pulled away and looked around them.

It seemed that everything was glittering, the trees sparkled, the grass twinkled.

"It's...happy." Becca whispered.

"Yes. Happy for you, happy for me. Happy that it can finally show itself to you." The Woman said, looking around with a smile.

"You mean, this is what it really looks like?" Lori asked.

"Yes. You three were drawn to it because of it's magic. The boys found their way into this world because of it's magic. But it could never show itself, for fear of what people would do." The Glade Woman looked a little sad.

"But for you, for it's children, for _my_ children, it can show itself." she smiled.

"It's...it's so beautiful." Tara said, her voice catching slightly.

"Oh, and just so you know, the entire Glade is a portal to the boys world. You can visit each other whenever you want to." The Glade Woman said cheerfully, her eyes sparkling once again.

"That's convenient." Tara said.

"Very." Becca added.

"So what now? We beat the bad guy, saved the world, got engaged, and met the lunchlady." Lori said, ticking off her fingers as she spoke. "I'd say that's a fairly busy day."

"Yeah, this calls for ice-cream and a big break!" Koga called.

"I agree. We should go back to the mountain." Sesshomaru said.

"This time, _without _interuptions." Inuyasha groused. "I want my freaking vacation dang it!"

"Here here!" They all cried.

The woman laughed.

"No matter where you go from here, the Glade will always be your home." She smiled.

Tara, Becca, and Lori sniffled, running to the woman and hugging her again.

"Thank you so much for everything you've done." Becca said.

"For finding us, helping us find the guys." Lori said.

"For saving our lives...giving us a chance to be happy." Tara said, and all of them looked up at her.

"Thank you Mother." they said together, their voices full of the love they had always felt, even though they never really knew who it was for.

The woman's eyes filled with tears as she hugged the girls close.

"Thank you girls." she said, unable to speak more.

They all pulled away, laughing lightly and wiping away their tears.

"Women." Sesshomaru snorted, rolling his eyes.

"They're so _complicated_." Koga said, staring at them.

Inuyasha sighed.

"I can't believe we're all actually getting married to them. They're going to drive us crazy." he said.

Koga grinned and ran over to him, punching him in the arm.

"What's to drive? You're already crazy!" He cried cheerfully, before ducking a swing from Inuyasha.

He laughed and ran swiftly over to Becca, swooping her up in his arms.

"I'll bet we'll beat you this time!" He cried, and took off with Becca laughing her head off.

"Don't count on it pup." Sesshomaru growled, offering his back to Lori who happily climbed on.

The instant she was settled, they took off in a dash, tearing out of the Glade.

Tara, Inuyasha, and the Woman stared.

"They are so immature." Tara said in shock.

"Yeah. Good thing I'm not like that huh?" Inuyasha asked, grinning down at her.

Tara rolled her eyes.

"We'll see." she said laughing, reaching up to kiss him.

Then she turned to the woman.

"Come with us?" she asked, her voice pleading.

The woman smiled brightly and touched Tara's face.

"Thank you dear, but my place is here." the woman seemed to glow once more, the bright light filling the Glade around them.

The magic rushed back to life, picking the woman up as the light grew brighter and brighter.

Tara's eyes filled once more with tears of happiness as she watched the woman smile down at her and Inuyasha.

"Take care of her Inuyasha. And tell Sesshomaru and Koga that they'd better treat my daughters right." the woman said fondly.

Inuyasha nodded.

"I will." he promised.

Tears fell down the womans cheek.

"You three are truly my children." she said to Tara.

Tara smiled through her tears and held her hand out to grasp the woman's hand...her mother's hand.

The wind grew once more to a roar, crystal green leaves spinning rapidly around them, the trees dancing and whispering their song.

"I love you all." the woman said to them softly.

"We love you." Tara said, and her voice was strangely echoing with two other voices, that of Becca and Lori.

The woman smiled and closed her eyes, and suddenly the strong, firm hand holding Tara's, disappeared.

_Just like magic_.

The light in the Glade faded, returning back to it's original state.

They looked around, feeling the normal peace and love of the trees.

Tara looked up, seeing their house in the trees.

Everything was the way it was meant to be.

A clawed hand took hers, startling her.

She looked to see Inuyasha smiling at her.

"Let's catch up with the others." he said softly, his voice telling her that he understood how she felt, making her smile in return.

Inuyasha turned and crouched, offering his back to her.

She climbed on, and holding her legs, they took off at a slow walk before building to a run and darting out of the Glade.

The trees whispered to each other, leaves brushing against each other as the wind blew softly.

And once more, the Glade seemed to glitter with a strange, loving, and happy magic.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**A.N.: _sniffles omg...I'm guna cry!! wails no not really lol. Oh and just to clear something up, the Glade isn't their physical mother, just kind of adopted mother. She thinks of them as her children because she loves them and they love her. And an interesting note, the lunchlady actually exists grins She's mine and Lori's lunchlady, and she's awesome. I hope you all enjoyed this, please review! Next and Last is the epilogue, which I will try very very hard to get written soon. I love you guys! Review please!! _**

EyesofOceanFlame


	17. New Demons

**A.N:_ Hey ya'll! I'm so sorry about the very long wait, life got rough and everything was crazy. But now I finally got the time and the will to sit down and write this for you all. This is indeed the last chapter of Puppy Love and omg, how much fun this has been! I'm dedicating this chapter to my best friends who are amazing. They keep me sane when life sucks, they make me laugh when I'm sad, they let me cry when I need it, they rock! They're the reason this story started, and they're the reason that we're now at the end of it. I love you guys! NOW, ENJOY THE LAST CHAPTER!!!! and please, all you people who read but dont review, PLEASE review, I beg you, I really want to know what you guys think of this story. Thanks everyone!_**

A.N. II: _This story has seen what has more than likely been one of the hardest times of my life. When I began this story, life was good, perfect even. Now things are falling apart beneath my feet.  
Lori, I will not apologize for something I didn't do, but I am sorry that whatever we did or whatever we failed to do, caused us to lose our friendship. This chapter is still dedicated to you and becca, and the memory of what we used to have._

Chapter 17 - Epilogue - New Demons

The three best friends walked inside Lori's home, the giant doors swinging open to admit them, revealing the candle-filled chandeliers, fancy carpets, lovely drapes, sparkling windows.

"Wow Lori, those drapes are lovely. I assume Sesshomaru finally gave in?" Tara asked, holding her sleeping baby girl, Lorana.

"Yeah finally. I thought I'd have to start threatening him with sleeping on the couch for years." Lori answered, holding onto Becca's arms as she waddled beside them.

She was very much pregnant with her and Sesshomaru's first child, and though the great Lord of the West would never admit it, he was ecstatic.

"Oh I'm sure that would have scared Fluffy." Becca giggled. She reached her arm out casually to grab the shirt of her second youngest child and only boy as he dashed inside.

"No running in the castle dear." she said smiling at him.

"Yes Mama." the boy said adorably, his brown ears flickering amidst his curly brown hair, flashing her a smile before walking away fast.

Tara smiled brightly.

"Becca, it's not exactly fair that you and Koga got a headstart." she said as they walked into one of the many living rooms.

"Well it's not my fault you two decided to wait nine years to have children." Becca shrugged.

The girls giggled, and Becca moved to help Lori sit down since Tara's arms were occupied.

The room was beautiful, dark blue drapes and silver couches and chairs. The rug in the center of the room was silver with a blue rose pattern over it.

The girls all agreed that it was the best room in the castle.

"So Becca, how is the house?" Lori asked, leaning back on the blue toss pillows.

Becca grinned.

"We finally got our white picket fence." she laughed, Tara and Lori joining in.

"I was afraid he was going to back out on it, when we were both at your house he was still complaining about it being dorky." Tara said, rocking slightly as her little girl started to fuss.

"Well he still complains about that, but I still have it." Becca said.

Their conversation was interrupted by all four of Becca's older children came running in, Lana holding Becca's youngest, Aalyah.

"Hi Aunt Lori! You have a baby in your tummy." the little boy said matter-of-factly, running up to Lori.

Lori smiled at him and nodded.

"Yes, I do. Soon though, you'll be able to play with him." she said, stroking his hair.

"So it's going to be a boy?" Becca asked, taking Aalyah from Lana and rocking her slightly. Her baby was seven months now, she and Tara had had their girls around the same time.

"We're pretty sure. Sesshomaru certainly thinks so." Lori smiled.

"He wants his heir before we think about more kids."

"Well that's silly." Becca and Tara said in unison, giggling when they realized they'd spoken at the same time.

The three girls had run over to Tara and were staring at the baby in her arms.

The oldest, Lana looked up at Tara.

"Can I hold her?" she asked, her eyes showing maturity, her size showing youth.

Tara smiled at her and nodded.

"Sit here by me and you can hold her." she said.

Lana jumped up beside her, wiggling around to get comfortable and rounding her little arms.

Tara placed her child in the girl's arms, correcting how she was holding her and turned back to her friends.

"So when are we going to get to see yours Lori? You take forever!" She accused with a grin.

Lori rolled her eyes.

"Believe me, I want this kid out just as bad as everyone else. I'm getting a little tired of not being able to see my feet."

"Well you did good today girl, your shoes even match!" Becca smirked.

"Shut up you. That was one time!" Lori pouted.

"But it was a memorable event! I dont think we'll ever forget it!" Tara grinned.

"Oh I'm sure you won't. And you won't let me forget it either!"

"Well you do kind of deserve it." Becca snickered. "Showing up with a pink sandall and a yellow sneaker with a deep green dress is a crime."

"I can't help it that Sesshomaru brought me the wrong shoes. He has no fashion sense at all." Lori said with a grin.

"Obviously." Tara said with a laugh. "So how bad did Sesshomaru freak out when you put the fluffy in the dryer?"

Lori and Becca cackled.

"Oh it was hilarious! I really thought he was going to pass out. He turned so pale and his eyes went huge and he just stared at me." Lori snickered.

Becca laughed harder.

"I would have given anything to see that!" she choked out.

Her second oldest girl grinned at her.

"Mama, breathe." the girl said.

Tara laughed and touched the girls hair.

"This one got the best of yours and Koga's qualities. Beauty and sarcasm."

"I'm not real sure if that's a good thing." Becca said, smiling at her daughter.

"Yes it is." Tara smiled down at the lovely girl, black hair falling around her shoulders with two little ears sticking out from the top.

A loud bang and tons of clattering were heard from in the hall, occompanied with angry yells and quite a few curses.

Tara closed her eyes in irritation, hearing the voice of her husband say a couple of things that shouldn't be heard by children.

Since she was the only one able to get up, she stood up and ran into the hall.

Stomping into the castle were the three demons, faces red with anger.

She put her hands on her hips and glared angrily at the three of them, stopping them in their tracks.

"And just what, may I ask, is the reason you three are polluting the air with that filth?" she hissed.

Inuyasha swallowed hard, wincing at the sight of his very ticked wife.

It still amazed him how someone so small could still be frightening at times.

"We um..." he started.

"Sesshomaru said...um..." Koga added.

Sesshomaru crossed his arms, trying not to show how much the small girl had startled him.

"I told them that they were pathetic excuses for demons that I didn't want in my castle." he said coldly.

"Sesshomaru!" Lori cried in disbelief. "How could you say something like that?!"

Sesshomaru winced and backed slightly away from his wife.

"And you Koga! How could you curse in front of the children?" Becca demanded, joining the others, holding Aalyah.

The other four children, Lana still holding Lorana, peeked from within the other room, staring wide-eyed as the daddy's got in big trouble.

The three demons hung their heads, praying they didn't get too busted.

"You three should be ashamed of yourselves. You, Sesshomaru, I will leave Lori to deal with." Her blue eyes were icy. "I'm ashamed to call you my brother in law."

Sesshomaru winced yet again. He had deserved that.

Inuyasha inched closer to his wife, touching her arm gently with one clawed hand.

She snapped her gaze to him.

"What?" she demanded.

Inuyasha grinned and pulled her fast against him, pressing his lips to hers. She gasped and grasped his shoulders for support, eyes fluttering closed.

Koga looked at Becca who was also fuming and grinned, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively at her.

She pursed her lips, trying not to smile at the sight of her husband sauntering seductively towards her.

She giggled as he wrapped his arms around her and Aalyah, leaning his head to hers.

"Forgive me for being a baka?" he asked softly.

Becca sighed mockingly.

"Maybe someday." she said.

"I'll take that!" he said and kissed her deeply.

A chorus of "eeeewwww"s were heard from their children, making them laugh.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and looked at his very pregnant, radiant wife and suddenly felt bad for what he'd said.

And let me tell you, Lord Sesshomaru feeling guilty does not happen. Just goes to show how much he really loved Lori.

He walked slowly up to her, eyes on hers.

"Forgive me?" he asked softly.

Lori's eyes searched his eyes for sincerity, and upon finding it she nodded.

"Yes, but it's not my forgiveness needed." she nodded her head in the direction of the two couples.

Sesshomaru sighed in irritation.

"Inuyasha. Koga." he said, not _even _going to allow himself to look weaker than necessary.

Both demons looked up.

"I'm sorry for what I said earlier."

Koga's jaw dropped and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, but both nodded and said "Me too."

The girls squealed and hugged their husbands happily.

"And now that everyone is happy and all that, it's time for us to go to the hospital!" Lori said, her voice strained slightly.

"Why would we do that?" Sesshomaru asked.

Tara and Becca shared a glance and walked calmly to their friend.

"How far apart?" Becca asked, taking one of Lori's arms.

"About twenty minutes."

"Okay good, we have lots of time." Tara said, taking her place at Lori's other side.

Koga's eyes widened.

"Oh man! Oh man! Is she about to...? Do I need to get the car? And the suitcase? What about hot water?" he spluttered.

Inuyasha smacked him over the head.

"One, this isn't your wife so why are you the one freaking out, two, we dont have cars in this era, baka."

"Oh yeah..."

"Would you two shut up?" Sesshomaru snapped at them, his face getting very pale.

Koga grinned evilly.

"Is someone a little nervous?" he teased.

"Oh and you can talk." Inuyasha snorted. "You passed out when Becca went into labor with Lana."

Koga glared at him.

"You just have to keep rubbing that in dont you?"

"Yep!" Inuyasha said cheerfully.

"Alright, Koga, you get the kids and run them to the Glade portal, Sesshomaru can carry Lori and Inuyasha can carry me and Becca." Tara said, taking charge, taking Lorana from Lana.

Koga nodded and grabbed up his kids, ensuring that all were there and ready for running. Then he kissed his wife and took off.

Yes, normal kids would have flown off in the whirl wind, but these were half-demons, made of tougher stuff.

Inuyasha crouched so his wife and Becca could climb onto his back and stood up.

"You comin' Fluffy?" he asked Sesshomaru who had gracefully picked up Lori. "Stop calling me that mutt." He said calmly. Then he took jumped out the door and into the sky, dashing towards the Glade portal.

"You two ready?" Inuyasha asked.

"Ready and waiting!" Tara and Becca said, both holding their baby girls close.

Inuyasha nodded and darted out the door, running fast.

Feudal Era trees and shacks rushed by them, and Becca and Tara both simply absorbed the feeling of clean air, unpolluted atmospher.

Then, taking a deep breath, the five of them charged directly into the shimmering screen that was the portal into their world.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

While Sesshomaru had been perfectly fine with Lori having their child in the Fuedal Era, that was one thing Becca and Tara slammed their foot down on.

Well actually it was on Sesshomaru's head that they slammed their feet on, since he was trying viciously to attack the young male doctors escorting Lori to go get ready.

"He was feeling her up, I just _know _it!" The silver-haired demon hissed.

"No Fluffy, he wasn't, he was helping her into her hospital gown. He was not feeling her up." Tara said calmly, rolling her eyes at Becca who smirked.

"Was Koga this bad?" she asked softly.

"Every single time." Tara growled. "I'm _so_ getting to old for this. No more kids for either of you."

Becca laughed and looked over at Koga, who was holding Aalyah and Steven and talking to Inuyasha who was holding Lorana.

Her eyes sparkled and she had a contended, blissful smile on her face.

Tara saw this and touched her hand, still keeping a firm grip on Sesshomaru's shirt collar.

"We did good didn't we?" she asked with a smile.

Becca nodded, her eyes misting over.

"I didn't think we'd ever get this lucky." Becca whispered. "I didn't think any of us would make it to this day. All of us together, husbands, children."

"Everything we could want." Tara finished and smiled.

Becca nodded and wiped at her joyful tears. Then she promptly smacked Sesshomaru in the head.

"No going anywhere, got it Fluffy? You attack those doctors and we'll make sure Lori has no way of getting pregnant. Got it?" She said smiling evilly.

"Yeah, we're going to go in the room with Lori, you stay out here and stay out of trouble." Tara said, narrowing her eyes at him.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened as he stared at Tara and Becca in horror.

Then he nodded and walked swiftly over to sit beside Koga.

"They are both very scary." he said bluntly to the brown-haired wolf demon and his silver haired half-brother, as they watched the girls walk away.

Koga gave a blissful grin, his eyes on his wife.

"Yeah I know. Ain't she great?" he said.

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes and Inuyasha laughed.

"Oh come on Sesshomaru, you can't tell me that Lori isn't a thousand times worse than that on PMS." He said grinning.

"Oh my God yes. But it's even worse when all three are on PMS at the same time." Koga muttered. "I still have a bump on my head."

"Papa, what's PMS?" Steven asked innocently, pulling at Koga's pony-tail.

"I'll tell you when girls stop having cooties, Son. You don't want to know until then." Koga answered easily, smiling at his son.

"Okay Papa." and with that the boy went back to playing with his fathers shirt buttons.

"Poor boy." Inuyasha said with a grin. "Maybe we should all three just instill in him a natural fear of women."

"He'll need that to survive them anyway." Sesshomaru said, his face in his hands.

"Hey, give us a break, we're tougher than them!" Koga said defensively.

Sesshomaru pulled his face out of his hands and gave Koga a stare and Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, eyes also on Koga.

"Yeah?" the brothers said together.

Koga's shoulders sagged.

"Okay so they could kick our butts if they wanted to. But it's only because we wouldn't fight back!" Koga grumbled.

"Yeah sure. I'll bet they'd start attacking us with lipgloss or brushes or some other crazy crap like that." Inuyasha said with a laugh.

"What on earth is _taking _so long??" Sesshomaru cried, standing up and pacing in front of the other two demons.

"She's having a baby Sesshomaru." Koga said simply, like it were as obvious as the sky is blue.

Sesshomaru glared at him.

"No duh moron, I noticed that. Having a hormonal woman running around, screaming that she wants a sardine shake, kind of clued me in on that one." he said grouchily.

"Well what did you expect Sessh, that she'd go in there and the doctor would say BOOM and your baby would be right there?" Inuyasha asked, rocking Lorana gently.

"Well...no...I guess not...I just thought it'd be...quicker." Sesshomaru floundered.

Koga looked at his watch.

"It's only been three hours Fluffy."

"Stop _calling _me that." he growled.

"How bout Fluffy-poo?" Koga cooed.

Inuyasha smacked Koga across the back of the head.

"Shut up and leave him alone before he has a mental breakdown and starts crying for chocolate." He said firmly, his face completely straight.

Sesshomaru let out a breath and sat down on the other side of Inuyasha.

"Was it this stressful for you?" he asked softly.

"Yep." Inuyasha and Koga answered instantly.

"Well that's just great!" Sesshomaru cried.

"Whats the problem?" Koga asked, eyebrows creasing.

"I'm no better than you two welps!" Sesshomaru nearly wailed.

Inuyasha stared at him before smacking him across the head as well.

"Get a grip bro. You're acting like a girl." He said.

Steven walked up to Sesshomaru and put his little hands on the demons knees.

"Don't be sad Uncle Sesshy, Auntie Lori will be okay. She's just going to get her baby." he said, his brown eyes full of childhood innocence. His ears flickered.

Sesshomaru looked steadily at him and pulled the little boy into a hug, which Steven happily returned.

It wasn't often his Uncle Sesshy hugged him.

"Thank you Steven. I feel better now." Sesshomaru told him softly.

Steven smiled at him and leaned up to kiss his cheek before going back to sit beside his father.

Lana walked into the room, followed by Jeni who was holding Danielle's hand.

"Hi Daddy." Lana said to Koga and walked gracefully to Inuyasha and took Lorana from his arms before sitting herself on his lap.

Inuyasha grinned and held her close to him.

That was the thing about all of the children.

They were all around each other so much that the six present children and the one who was soon to join them, had three pairs of parents.

And thus, each pair of parents had several kids.

Oh those poor people.

"Uncle Sesshy?" Lana asked, rocking Lorana as she looked at Sesshomaru.

"Yes Lana?" the silver-haired demon asked with a not-well-hidden smile.

"Are you excited?" she asked with a smile.

Sesshomaru paused, his eyes pondering.

"Yes...actually...I am." he said, his voice slightly surprised.

"Me too. It's like getting another little brother." Lana said giggling. Then she leaned down and kissed the sleeping Lorana's forehead.

"Yes, I suppose it would be." Sesshomaru smiled, not trying to hide it this time.

"Watch out bro, I think these kids might be softening up the great Lord of the West." Inuyasha said with a smile, kissing the side of Lana's head.

"Look who's talking. You just wait till _your _girl gets older. She's _already_ got you wrapped around her finger." Koga said smirking.

"Yeah I know. But I dont really mind." Inuyasha grinned.

All of them looked up as a smiling doctor walked out. "She's fine now, and she's asked to see you sir." The doctor said to Sesshomaru.

His eyes widened and he swallowed, trying to soothe his dry mouth. He nodded silently.

All stood and followed but allowed him to walk in first.

There, on the hospital bed with a tired, but happy look on her face, was his wife.

Becca was stroking Lori's hair away from her face, and Tara stood beside her, holding a soft bundle in her arms.

His wife looked at him and smiled tiredly at him.

"Hello love." she whispered.

"Hi baby." he said, kissing her head.

"Sesshomaru." Tara said, and smiled when he looked at her.

"Meet your daughter." she said, her blue eyes sparkling as she extended the small bundle.

"My daughter?" Sesshomaru said in wonder, his hands at his sides.

"Yes Sesshomaru, your daughter. Now take her." Tara said firmly, but kindly.

He reached out shaky hands and with help from Tara, was soon holding his newborn daughter.

The girl had silver-blonde hair and pointed ears, and there was a single purple slash across each cheek.

"She's beautiful." He whispered.

"Yes she is." Tara said and kissed his cheek. "Your wife did splendidly."

Sesshomaru walked over to the bed, Becca and Tara both withdrawing silently from the room.

"Thank you." he said to her, his eyes full of adoration, instead of the chill that had been there so many years ago.

"No thank you. So, you aren't upset that it isn't a boy like we thought?" Lori asked softly.

"Actually I'm very happy with this. My own daughter." he said again, looking at the sleeping infant in his arms.

"Besides, we have a long, long life ahead of us. Plenty of time for sons." Sesshomaru grinned and wiggled his eyebrows, making Lori laugh.

"I love you Lori."

"I love you too Sesshomaru."

He leaned over and kissed her lips gently, their child between them, and the room shimmered a little with a strange mist of joy.

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"Time to go home kids!" Koga said, rounding up his children.

"Awww, but we didn't get to see the baby!" Jeni, the second eldest said sadly, taking her little sister's hand.

"We will soon though Jeni. Uncle Sesshy and Aunt Lori are going to be all googly-eyed for a few days, then we'll get to see the baby." Lana told her with a maturity that still shocked the adults.

"Will she get to play with us?" Steven asked softly, walking up to Lana who picked him up.

"Maybe someday." Lana told him and kissed his cheek.

Becca smiled at her children and hugged her husband, who was still holding Aalyah.

"I love you Koga." she whispered to him softly.

"Mmmm and I love you, pretty lady." Koga grinned and kissed her lightly, both of them laughing when their kids "eeewww"ed.

"Okay love birds, get out of here and go home before you traumatize your children." Inuyasha said with a grin.

"Yeah okay, we'll see you two later!" Koga said, walking out the door with his children around him.

Becca ran up to Tara and hugged her tightly.

"Call me later?" she asked.

"Of course." Tara answered and smiled.

When they had gone, Tara looked at Inuyasha.

"Well I'd say today went well." she said calmly.

"Yeah I suppose it did. I don't know if I want Lori to get pregnant again though." he said thoughtfully.

Tara's eyebrows raised.

"That's an awful thing to say." she said in surprise.

"No really. Sesshomaru is worse than three females on a sugar high." he grinned.

Tara laughed and took his face in her hands, kissing him deeply before pulling away and kissing her daughter who had awoken.

"Hello there my love." she whispered, stroking her child's head.

Her baby smiled at her and cooed innocently and the parents laughed softly.

"Let's go home." Inuyasha said, kissing his wife's forhead.

"That was so 'A Journey Home.'" Tara laughed and linked her arm through his as they left the hospital.

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Three weeks later and things were back to normal, or, atleast as normal as things could be.

Life is never normal when you have demons and kids in the mix.

Lori was home and she and baby Litha were doing wonderfully.

Sesshomaru was making a good father, if a little dramatic.

Heh...Sesshomaru...dramatic...heh heh heh.

Becca and Tara went often to visit her, brought her chocolate, beat up on Sesshomaru, awwwed at the baby, normal girly-friend things.

After a very long day of visits and children, Tara and Becca decided that, for their own sanity, it would be best to go home.

They all three embraced and said their goodbyes, promises to call and visit, smiles and a few tears.

Lori waved goodbye to them from the front door as the two women walked towards the Glade Portal.

"Wow. Long day." Becca said, rubbing her tense neck.

"Yeah. Litha's adorable, but I've never seen a child wail so much." Tara said, running her hand through her hair.

"I have to disagree, Shaira screamed." Becca said, grinning.

"Oh my God, do I remember that. That was one time I was willing to ditch my friend for a few hours of sleep." Tara said fondly.

"That was silly of you, I never asked you to come help me with her and the other kids." Becca said with a smile.

"Well duh, that's why I went, because you wouldn't ask." Tara said and gave Becca a side hug.

When they weren't around their children, all three of the girls fell back into their youthful selves.

Time or distance, children or husbands, they were still friends and still kids.

They came up to the shimmering portal and taking each others hands, they took a deep breath and walked through.

They felt a tingling running up and down them, making them shudder lightly with the pressure of it, but then smiled at the familiar sight of their home.

Yes, they had homes of their own now, but the Glade was somehow bound to all of them.

It was their mother, their safety, their protector.

It had always been there for them.

The two women walked up to the tree in the center of the Glade, the one that held their house.

Tara touched the trunk gently and Becca leaned against it.

"Do you think anything will ever happen to this place?" Becca asked, turning her head to look at Tara.

"I dont know. I hope not." she smiled softly. "Maybe our children will keep it safe."

"And make adventures of their own?" Becca said.

"Well, I doubt theirs will be like ours. Ours was particularly...weird." Tara grinned.

"Naturally." Becca said with a giggle.

They were silent for a moment, both simply absorbing the familiar feeling of the Glade's magic.

"I love this place." they both whispered at the same time, glanced at each other and began giggling.

Becca pushed off the tree trunk and grabbed Tara's hand.

"Let's go play with our kids." she said with a child-like happiness.

Tara giggled and nodded, and they both started running towards the vine door.

Before leaving, they paused and turned back to the Glade.

They shared a glance, both seeing memories and feeling all that had happened in this place.

Then they smiled.

No matter where they went, the Glade was a part of them. It kept their friendship in tact, whole, complete.

It would never fade from them, because it _was_ them.

A shimmering wind rushed towards them and ran around them, warming them.

The magic was in them, it always had been.

Their friendship, the strength of it, the love that kept it, was what had created the wonders of this place.

And thus would it stay, as long as love stayed alive.

With one final glance to their home, the two girls turned and left.

The emerald leaves on the surrounding trees whispered and rustled together, creating their song again.

The air shimmered with a warm, glittering air that filled the sacred place.

And the Glade waited patiently, for She knew that soon her magic would be carried on by the next generation.

Fin  
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**A,N.:_ I dont really know if I like the ending, but I liked the conversations. Please, please, PLEASE, review people, You've no idea how much I'll adore you if you do. Thank you so, so much to all the people who have been with me with this story from the beginning, thank you for your wonderful ideas and words of encouragement. I love you guys, you are all awesome!_**


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